Government demands 4,500 more houses to be built on top of 12,500 already planned over the next 15 years in Basingstoke and Deane

The Government has demanded an extra 4,500 more houses be built in Basingstoke and Deane over the next 15 years, on top of the 12,500 already planned.

As part of the Government’s new National Planning Policy Framework, the North Hampshire district is expected to build 1,127 houses each year over the next decade and a half, up from 828 previously.

In response to the housing demands, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s cabinet member for strategic planning and infrastructure has called for developers and landowners to come forward with land that could potentially be used for future housebuilding.

Councillor Andy Konieczko (Lib Dem, Brighton Hill) also said that the council does “not believe that this new higher target is right for our borough” but admitted that “it looks like we have little choice but to accept it”.

Mr Konieczko’s full statement says: “Over the past week, we’ve been working hard to understand the implications of the Government’s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) on our borough, and planning our next steps to protect Basingstoke and Deane from unwanted speculative development.

“We owe it to our residents to understand exactly what the new rules mean for our area and what our options are.

“The Government’s new planning rules state that we must build 1,127 new houses each year during our next Local Plan period, up from 828 previously.

“This means that we need to find space for around 4,500 more properties – on top of the 12,500 or so that we were already being asked to build over the 15-year lifespan of the next Local Plan.

“We don’t believe that this new higher target is right for our borough, but it looks like we have little choice but to accept it; the Government has made it clear that it’ll step in if progress isn’t made.

“We won’t sit still while we consider our options for moving forward – the sooner we get a new Local Plan in, the sooner we’ll get protection from speculative developers.

“As a result, we’ll be working over the new couple of weeks to prepare a call for sites that we’ll launch on Monday, January 6.

“This will ask developers and landowners to come forward with land that could, potentially, be included in the plan for future development.

“Submissions involving brownfield land will be particularly encouraged. The submissions that we receive will then be assessed in terms of whether they are suitable for future development.

“Over the coming weeks we’ll clarify how we aim to progress with our Local Plan and start setting out a new timeline to move forward under the new NPPF.”