Changes to the planning system could see thousands of new homes built in Westmorland and Furness over the next five years.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has updated the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) resulting in revised house building targets for each local authority.
Westmorland and Furness Council has been targeted with building at least 1,331 homes a year under the new method. Under the previous system the authority had a not statutory target of delivering 227 homes per year.
All councils in England have been given new housing targets in a bid to build the governments 1.5million new homes.
According to the government the new mandatory targets will mean councils must boost housebuilding in areas most in need.
A spokesperson for Westmorland and Furness Council previously said: “Westmorland and Furness Council is committed to supporting more housing to meet all needs so that local families can build a life here, new people can be attracted to relocate and older residents and those with disabilities are able to live as independently as possible whilst receiving the support they need.
“We support high quality housing that is affordable, well designed and energy efficient and accompanied by appropriate infrastructure to support communities.”
The Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has written to every council leader and chief executive in England to state there is not just a ‘professional responsibility’ but a ‘moral obligation’ to see more homes built.
The letter added she will not hesitate to use her powers of intervention should it be necessary including taking over an authority’s plan making directly.
Ms Rayner said: “I will not hesitate to do what it takes to build 1.5 million new homes over five years and deliver the biggest boost in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.
“We must all do our bit, and we must all do more. We expect every local area to adopt a plan to meet their housing need. The question is where the homes and local services people expect are built, not whether they are built at all.”
Reforms announced by the government make explicit that the default answer to brownfield development should be ‘yes’.
The government has also announced that it plans to remove council planning committees and councillors from the decision making process on housing development applications were the local plan has sites allocated for housing.
Planning officers will be empowered to directly approve applications, or government will take the final decision if officers fail to approve housing development.
The increase in housing per year could see thousands of new housing built around Penrith over the next 5 years with the council's new mandatory annual targets requiring at least twice the number of new homes built in Carleton over the last decade to be built annually or at least plans approved for annually.
Westmorland and Furness Council are currently working to creating a new local plan expected to be completed by 2027 but currently operates using the former district councils local plans with the adopted Eden local plan currently in place for Penrith and Eden.
Government in announcing its new planning rules has made no mention on the impact of Neighbourhood plans and if these will form part of the decision-making process around housing developments or if just the local plan will be used along with national planning rules.
It has also been announced this week that government will now directly make the planning decisions on national infrastructure projects that would range from transport infrastructure through to new onshore wind farms solar farms and other infrastructure projects.
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