Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council propose plan to slow down housebuilding in North Hampshire

A plan to reduce the number of houses built over the next five years has been proposed to give infrastructure, facilities and services in North Hampshire the chance to catch up to the increased demand.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s new cabinet, which came into power in May, will be discussing the new plan at an economic, planning and housing committee meeting this evening (Thursday).

The council’s current target of 850 homes a year, which is based on a national formula set by central government, would be cut to under 700 new homes a year for five years from 2025 under a fresh ‘stepped trajectory’ approach put forward by the new administration.

Cabinet member for strategic planning and infrastructure councillor Andy Konieczko said: “We’re all agreed that our area needs high-quality, genuinely affordable homes, built in the right places and with the necessary supporting services.

“In reality, this means that we need to slow down housebuilding to give our infrastructure – including new schools, doctors’ and dentists’ surgeries, roads and sewerage treatment facilities – a chance to catch-up.

“Our options are severely limited by the planning straitjacket imposed on us by theGovernment.

“We’re still pushing for them to change this to take into account local circumstances.

“With little support or guidance coming from the government, the stepped trajectory approach to the housing number – setting a lower figure for the first five years of the new plan – enables residents to get the benefits of a new Local Plan while also helping us to get the infrastructure that our borough desperately needs.”

A housing figure needs to be decided for the next Basingstoke and Deane Local Plan, which will guide development and planning decisions in the borough to 2040.

The Local Plan Update was paused by the previous Conservative administration following concerns about the number of new homes that the Government was mandating for the borough.

In response, the new cabinet, which consists of Liberal Democrats and two types of Independents, is proposing a housing number that it believes meets the borough’s needs for new homes while also taking into account the characteristics of the area.

The cabinet is keen to consult with residents on the draft local plan, including the stepped trajectory approach to the housing number, early next year.

Mr Konieczko said: “As a new administration, we recognise how important the Local Plan is in giving our residents certainty about future development in their areas and setting higher standards for all new homes built in our area.

“We can’t wait any longer, and re-starting the Local Plan process has been one of our top priorities since we took over in May.

“The updated plan will introduce a more ambitious policy framework, building upon and strengthening the existing adopted plan, to meet the area’s needs and the council’s aims, for example in tackling climate change and the ecological emergency.”

Former council leader Simon Minas-Bound has criticised the proposed stepped trajectory approach.

He believes that if the proposal is approved, the borough will have to compensate for the reduced number of houses built per year in the future.

Mr Minas-Bound said: “Residents will be disappointed to realise that despite extensive discussions about lowering the number of houses to be built, the new three-party coalition are ripping up previous housing targets and looking to increase housebuilding in the borough to 950 houses per year in the future, which is roughly 100 more than the current delivery rate.

“Given the prevailing economic conditions that are hampering house construction the initial figure just states the current facts, it's understandable that residents will feel frustrated that their voices haven’t been heard.

“I encourage residents and parish councils to express their deep concern and to remind the council administration they are looking for a plan to reduce the number and to stop the acceptance of the unsustainable figure of 950 new houses per year.”