The Government’s planning reforms threaten to leave areas at the mercy of speculative developers and risk local roads and schools being overwhelmed as the volume of housing rockets, councils serving rural areas have warned.
Analysis by the County Councils Network (CCN) showed plans for new mandatory local housing targets would require a “dramatic” 56% annual increase in properties outside metropolitan areas.
For areas covered by CCN members, which serve 47% of the population in England, this equates to an average of more than 64,769 new properties a year – an extra 1,245 homes per week.
CCN, which represents 37 county and unitary authorities, said the proposed increase in housing in mostly rural areas is triple the percentage requirement set to be placed on councils in major cities.
A survey of CCN members found the vast majority supported the concept of nationally set targets, but nine in 10 said they also believed the Government’s targets are too high.
A lack of infrastructure was cited by 90% of councils as the main reason they could not support the targets, while 55% said there was a shortage of suitable land for development.
The current pressure on local roads, services and other amenities was described as “excessive” by 85% of respondents, with 90% saying the situation is worsening.
The survey also found 85% of councils were not confident that the new planning system would be equipped to deliver the infrastructure needed to support the volumes of new housing.
In July this year, just a third of councils had a local plan in place which was less than five years old, and the Government said it “would take the tough decisions and step in where needed to drive progress”.
The proposals were backed at the time by a range of housebuilders, planners, experts and campaigners including the National Housing Federation.
But the CCN said new Government targets for land supply, which require councils to show they have identified sufficient sites to meet their five-year housing target, would override councils’ local plans even after they have been subject to public consultation and approved by the Planning Inspectorate.
This has led to concerns that developers could slow down the delivery of housing which has been approved, or not deliver plans in full, to ensure councils cannot meet their land supply targets.
“Developers can then use this to successfully get permission on other sites outside a councils’ local plan, often in locations that are unsuitable and with no consideration over whether there is any infrastructure,” the CCN said.
Richard Clewer, CCN housing and planning spokesperson, said: “The County Councils Network’s survey is clear: councils in rural and county areas are not anti-housing and the vast majority support the principle of nationally set targets.
“But these targets are excessive and we are looking at having to build an extra 65,000 homes a year, without any commitment to the essential road networks, school places, and GP surgeries that will be required.
“We don’t have enough infrastructure to cope now, let alone after building quarter-of-a-million extra homes over the course of this Parliament. We also must remember much of this development in county areas will be in the places with limited or no public transport, compared to the benefits of building in or around cities where there is already good infrastructure.
“Worse still, the Government’s proposal to introduce a five-year land supply drives a bulldozer through locally-agreed housing decisions in our Local Plans and empowers developers.
“If implemented alongside these dramatic new housing targets, we will see a developer free for all in many county and rural areas, weakening democracy and leading to development in unsuitable locations, regardless of local views.”
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “We reject any claims that these targets are excessive. We are facing a serious housing crisis, so all areas of the country must play their part in building the homes that Britain badly needs.
“We will work in partnership with councils to create the vital infrastructure that people need in their communities, as we meet our commitment to deliver 1.5 million homes in the next five years.”
In two-tier county areas, district councils are responsible for housing and planning, with county councils dealing with infrastructure.
The 17 single-tier unitary councils are responsible for both housing and infrastructure.
