01 Aug 2024
The St Albans district could be forced to take up to 70 per cent more homes than already included in its draft Local Plan, after the new Government ordered the biggest nationwide house-building drive in generations.
All councils in England have been given new, mandatory housing targets to pave the way to deliver 1.5 million more homes – tackling the most acute housing crisis in living memory.
For St Albans, the current target of 15,000 new homes in the years to 2041 could increase by a staggering 10,500 extra properties, with more sites needed for development on top of those already identified.
Around 80 per cent of the district is Green Belt, and although some is already earmarked for development, this may now have to increase.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has written to every council leader and chief executive in England to make clear that there is “not just a professional responsibility but a moral obligation to see more homes built”, and that she will not hesitate to use her powers of intervention should it be necessary – including taking over a local authority’s plan-making directly.
In addition to restoring mandatory housing targets, the method used to calculate them, which relied on decade old data, will be updated. The new method will require councils to ensure homes are built in the right places and development is proportionate to the size of existing communities, while adding an extra level of ambition in the most unaffordable areas.
Councils will have to review their Green Belt land if needed to meet their own target, identifying and prioritising ‘grey belt’ land, which includes land on the edge of existing settlements or roads, as well as old petrol stations and car parks.
Land released in the Green Belt will be subject to the Government’s ‘golden rules’, which make clear that any development should deliver 50 per cent affordable homes, increase access to green spaces and put the necessary infrastructure in place, such as schools and GP surgeries.
A revised draft of St Albans’ current Local Plan was expected to be published in October and then undergo a two-month consultation when residents, businesses, community groups and other organisations can give their views.
But for now there is confusion about whether councils will be given more time to implement the revised housing targets, or if this will be a second stage process.
The St Albans Times asked council leader Cllr Paul de Kort whether this vindicated his stance of pushing ahead with the existing Local Plan rather than waiting for any revised numbers.
“It certainly does. Doing anything else would have clearly been much worse. There’s lots of uncertainty in the detail of this, but the direction is really clear and the direction of travel is clear and the Labour government are being very forthright in their views about what will happen to a council that doesn’t follow their path to the very quick delivery of housing target numbers that they’re imposing from the top down.”
So what does it mean for the district? “It’s hard to say, it really is hard to say. It’s 70 pages of detailed planning and there’s a consultation to go with it but I don’t think I want to say more than that at this stage, just give us some time to look at it.
“Everyone can see the information that’s now in the public domain and draw their conclusions but clearly senior officers of the council and the administration will be looking at this to make the most of it along with consulting with our two local MPs.
“They will absolutely be raising the case in Parliament as much as we are going to be doing it through our own auspices to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
“We will be making our strongest possible representations about what it means for this district, and we will be able to explain to them what we believe the impact will be.”
An eight-week consultation on the new housing targets will conclude in the autumn.
