The Assistant Director for
Planning, Development and Regeneration will give an update on what
the Council has said to the Government in connection with this
consultation, and members are asked to decide what action/s if any
to take.
Minutes:
Councillor Anderson introduced the item. The Government's consultation had run out some weeks previously, and it was concerning both that the committee had missed an opportunity to have its say on the consultation, and that the Government will have come under intense pressure to re-raise the lower housing allocation for Dacorum. He felt there was an opportunity to lobby the Government out of the consultation window, and tabled a draft letter appealing to the Government to retain the lower figure.
J
Doe said the government issued a consultation in September 2017. It
was a long awaited consultation and is supposed to give a standard
approach/method on housing needs. It was expected that there would
be a formula for local authorities to calculate need however, the responsibility was handed down to
individual boroughs. Dacorum was rewarded with a relatively low
figure because the council has an up to date Local Plan but here
has been confusion around this figure. If a plan is beyond five
years old, the figure reverts to a higher number. Dacorum’s
Local Plan reaches that milestone in September 2018. Currently, the
low figure is 607 but the higher number could be in the region of
1,000-1,100 which is way above anything the council have ever
experienced.
The council need clarity on the figure expected and whether we can
rely on the lower figure. The government will be considering the
responses submitted and this will contribute to formulating the new
National Policy Framework which is expected as a final document in
summer of this year.
Councillor Anderson asked J Doe if any harm could be foreseen if the committee was to send the letter as tabled (see Appendix A).
J Doe said he didn’t think it would. The government will have received many responses at polar ends of the spectrum. The government’s policy is clear: a significant boost to building houses is needed.
Councillor G Sutton said he was happy to take this forward.
Councillor Anderson asked the committee for its support in sending the response to the government.
Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe said she supported the letter with some changes. She felt paragraph four was quite vague and the additional of the new home figures would make it clearer.
Councillor Anderson said he would redraft the letter and send to members via email.
Councillor Fisher asked if the lower figure would mean an increase in house prices.
J Doe said this comes down to many factors. Hertfordshire is a high value area with a high level of unaffordability. The more expensive an area, the more house they will need to build. The supply of new homes is dependent on developers who regulate development to influence the price.
Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe said the mix of homes needed to be looked at to accommodate the rise in single people, the elderly and those with additional needs.
J Doe said the government figures are just numbers, they do not specify the types of housing needed. DBC will be conducting work into what type of housing is needed in the future.
Outcome
That the Strategic Planning and Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny Committee approve the report.