Somerset council calls new proposed mandatory housing target ‘unrealistic’

The leader of Bath and North East Somerset Council has labelled the Labour government’s new proposed mandatory housing target for the area as ‘unrealistic’ in a letter to Angela Rayner.

The targets, proposed in July, demands a “significant uplift” in the council’s housing plans, raising the required number of homes from 717 to 1,466 per year.

The new mandatory housing targets will be underpinned by a new standard method for calculating the number of homes needed in different locations, and will require 90% of local authorities outside the capital to build more. 

Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES) council leader, councillor Kevin Guy, has written to Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister and housing secretary, welcoming the government’s commitment to tackling the housing crisis but warning that the housing target set for B&NES is ‘unrealistic’.

>> See also: Ministers seek views on brownfield planning passport to speed up development

>> See also: The ins and outs of Labour’s new National Planning Policy Framework

Guy’s letter added that the proposed housing targets “are a relatively crude calculation based on existing housing stock, affordability and economic potential”.

The council leader expressed concern to Rayner that developing beyond their current plans for 5,000-6,000 additional homes by 2029/30 could jeopardise Bath’s UNESCO status.

The new housing target would require B&NES to build an additional 12,000 homes on top of the 14,500 it was already planning for through its local plan.

Guy said the extra housing “will have to be built elsewhere in North East Somerset which would not address the affordability crisis in the city of Bath nor allow homes to be built in the most sustainable areas close to the city”.

>>See also: Housing minister tells Homes England to focus rest of AHP on social rented homes

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) held a consultation on its proposed reforms to the NPPF between 30 July to 24 September 2024.

In its consultation response, the Local Government Association (LGA) said that councils had expressed “very real concerns about the punitive and disenfranchising implications that mandatory housing targets, the re-introduction of the 5-year housing land supply test, and the Housing Delivery Test will have with regards to plan-making”.

The LGA said that ”any housebuilding target derived by a formula which does not account for local circumstances or the practicalities of delivery in that particular location is likely doomed to fail”.

A MHCLG spokesperson said: “We are absolutely committed to preserving the historic environment and our national planning policy recognises that World Heritage Sites are assets that should be protected.

“All areas of the country, including Bath, must play their part in ending the housing crisis by building the homes we need. That is why we will work in partnership with councils like Bath so we can deliver 1.5 million homes over the next five years.”