Items 13 18 and 19 Urgent Update

Items 13, 18 and 19                    Wierton Place, Wierton Road, Boughton Monchelsea.

 

                                                       Land Adjacent Rock House, Boughton lane, Boughton Monchelsea.

 

                                                       Land West of Mill Bank, Maidstone Road, Headcorn.

 

 

 

Reference numbers: 11/0511, 15/507259 and 15/507424

 

 

5 year supply update

 

The new Local Plan has advanced and is out to Regulation 19 publication being the Plan that the Council considers is ready for examination. The Plan is scheduled for submission to the Planning Inspectorate for examination in May 2016, with the examination expected to follow in September. The Plan allocates housing sites considered to be in the most appropriate locations for the Borough to meet the OAN figure, and will enable the Council to demonstrate a 5 year supply of deliverable housing sites when it is submitted to the Inspectorate in May. Clearly the Local Plan is gathering weight as it moves forward, but it is not considered to have sufficient weight to rely solely on to refuse or approve a planning application.

Notwithstanding this, it remains the case the most recently calculated supply of housing, which assesses extant permissions and expected delivery, is from April 2015. This demonstrates a 3.3 year supply of housing assessed against the OAN of 18,560 dwellings. A desk based review of housing supply undertaken in January 2016 to support the Regulation 19 Local Plan housing trajectory suggests that there remains a clear and significant shortfall of supply against the five year requirements.

The Council’s five year supply position will be formally reviewed in April/May in order to support the submission of the Local Plan to examination in May. Before the Local Plan is submitted however, the Council will remain unable to demonstrate a 5 year supply of deliverable housing sites.