'Exhaust all your options' - minister's message to councils as government increases housing targets

A shake-up of planning rules contained in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is set to see councils given mandatory targets to deliver a total of 370,000 homes a year in England.

The changes could have major implications for Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin, with predicted housing requirements set to double.

Labour Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook has urged local councils to "exhaust all your options" to meet the goal, including releasing the "right parts" of protected greenbelt land.

For the Shropshire Council area the required number of houses per year could increase from 1,070 to 1,994.

For Telford & Wrekin Council the number could go up from 463 to 857.

Mr Pennycook said local authorities will get Government support to put plans in place, he said, but "recalcitrant authorities" that refuse to comply and put plans in place to meet targets could face the "full range of ministerial intervention power".

For Shropshire Council the figures would represent a huge target, given that the authority's local plan remains up in the air due to soundness concerns from local plan inspectors.

An update on the situation is expected imminently, but the authority could find itself needing to identify more sites to satisfy the current plan process, and then more sites under the new Labour policies.

Requirements to build significant amounts of extra homes would undoubtedly prove controversial - particularly given the controversy and difficulties faced in getting permission for a number of large developments around the county.

The prospect of green belt land being opened up also means there is potential for some of the county's controversial proposals being needed to meet targets, such as thousands of homes proposed for land to the west of Tong, and North of Junction 3 of the M54, and recent proposals for 1,000 homes in Albrighton.

the issue of finding sites is only one problem, with infrastructure also presenting a major challenge - in terms of electricity grid capacity, sewage networks and water systems, as well as roads and health provision.

A number of sites in the county are already limited by capacity.

Stuart Thomas, CEO of Berrys planning consultants, welcomed the plans and said it would provide much-needed housing for the county.

He said: "We are delighted to see the new National Planning Policy Framework published today. The policy will help facilitate much needed new housing and employment developments across Shropshire. For too long the rate of housebuilding has been too low meaning that people have missed out on owning their own home and living and working in communities across the County. 

"We are pleased to see that the rate of housing delivery in both Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin will need to increase by 85% and the move by the government seeks to address the constraints in the planning system which is too often a blocker to much needed development.  

 "It is important that the development sector, both public and private, work together to deliver sustainable developments which Shropshire can be proud of. Doing so will provide high-quality new homes, create hundreds of jobs and will boost local economies and communities across the county.“

The Prime Minister and his deputy Angela Rayner have pledged to build 1.5 million homes and take decisions on 150 major infrastructure projects this parliament.

The updated national planning policy framework (NPPF) will commit to a "brownfield first" strategy, with disused sites that have already been developed in the past prioritised for new building.

The default answer when a developer seeks to build on brownfield sites will be "yes".

But councils will also be ordered to review their greenbelt boundaries to meet targets by identifying lower quality "greybelt" land that could be built on.

The updated NPPF will define greybelt land for the first time.

The definition of grey belt put forward by the Government is "land making a limited contribution to the green belt's purposes", Mr Pennycook said.

"So we are talking about poorly performing land. It will include previously developed land, you know, like disused petrol stations, abandoned car parks, but also just low-value scrub land," he said.

He acknowledged the targets were a stretch in many parts of the country.

"What I say to local authority leaders is just 'exhaust all your options to meet those targets', whether that be bringing forward brownfield, previously developed land, densifying that land, looking to release, say, poor quality grey belt land within the green belt - if you have any - through green belt reviews."