Consultation launched on new proposed housing sites in Test Valley
Residents are being encouraged to share their feedback on the proposed new housing sites in Test Valley’s draft Local Plan.
Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) has today launched a public consultation on the document.
The draft plan and consultation can be found at www.testvalley.gov.uk/localplan2042 and residents have until Friday 5 September to respond.
The news comes after central government vastly inflated Test Valley’s housing figure in its National Planning Policy Framework almost overnight, meaning the council must now deliver 78 per cent more homes than it had initially planned for.
And because the change was implemented so suddenly, the authority no longer meets its five-year housing land supply. This impacts TVBC’s ability to defend itself against inappropriate development, and means that developers that can submit applications quickly, even if they are of lower quality or in unsustainable locations, could still get planning permission.
Test Valley must now identify enough sites to deliver 15,878 new homes over the next 17 years, which has led to some difficult decisions about where the new homes could be built.
The proposed new developments are spread across the borough, including Andover and Romsey, as well as in our rural areas.
Leader of the council, Councillor Phil North, said: “We have had to make some incredibly difficult decisions off the back of the government massively increasing our housing figure, and councils up and down the country are in the same boat. I am under no illusion that what is proposed will be challenging for our communities, and we share their concerns and frustrations.
“But if we do not move forward and get a new Local Plan in place as quickly as possible, then we leave the door open to speculative applications from developers that we will struggle to defend against. That is why we have worked so quickly to update the draft off the back of the hugely inflated housing figure from central government.
“Allocating sites to accommodate the additional homes at least gives us a level of control over a situation that we would never choose to be in. We know there will be some difficult compromises, but your input is critical to making those decisions. Please do take the time to respond to the consultation and share your feedback.”
Councillor Phil Bundy, cabinet member for planning and building, said: “While it is important that we have sufficient homes to meet the needs of our growing communities, we understand that the location of any new developments will always be an emotive topic for residents. But identifying sites has been made far harder by the government massively increasing our housing figure. Particularly as they didn’t put in place adequate transitional arrangements to enable authorities to get new local plans adopted, which would guard against inappropriate development.
“I would urge all residents to share their feedback, so that we can respond to this challenge constructively and collaboratively.”