Susan van de Ven

Liberal Democrat Councillor for Bassingbourn, Litlington, Melbourn, Meldreth and Whaddon Learn more

Developer Field Day: Non-Existent Local Plan

by Susan van de Ven on 14 March, 2017

South Cambridgeshire District Council cannot demonstrate a rolling five year housing land supply, which is the underlying factor preventing the adoption of the Local Plan. As a result any of the Council policies which seek to restrict housing growth are effectively in abeyance, and this includes village framework lines.

Incredibly frustratingly, there are already planning consents issued for around 10,000 homes in South Cambs – nearly half the housing allocated by the Local Plan (which is still being examined by the Inspector). In fact the issue is not that South Cambs cannot issue consents fast enough – it is that the development industry isn’t building them out. And why would it? If the five year issue is closed by actually building homes the development industry loses an amazing opportunity – which it has enthusiastically grasped with both hands – to lodge applications for huge numbers of homes in a completely unplanned and unsustainable way with no need to go through the bother of demonstrating to an Inspector at Inquiry the necessity or benefit of a land allocation let alone the bother and expense of time-consuming public consultation. The development industry is not going to build houses while it thinks it still has a chance to get further consents.

Only 482 houses will have been built in the past 12 months in South Cambs when the expectation was for 975. Developers locally are also experiencing serious emerging problems of recruiting construction workers as the effects of Brexit start to be felt. As far as the future is concerned we are predicting building only nine dwellings per week where we need to achieve 18 per week. If we take into consideration the 1500 shortfall which has caused the five-year housing land supply deficit we actually need 25 per week to make up shortfall.

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