Five-year housing land supply position statement (as at 01 April 2024)

The National Planning Policy Framework (2024) (opens new window) requires all local planning authorities to identify and update annually a rolling five-year supply of housing land. Whether a five-year housing supply does or doesn't exist is an important material consideration when determining planning applications for new housing.

The position statement explains the approach and method undertaken. It is made up of three component parts:

1. Calculating the five-year housing land supply requirement
2. Identifying and assessing deliverable sites to inform the housing land supply
3. Calculation of the five-year housing land supply position

The Borough Council did not initially prepare a five-year housing land supply position statement to cover the period between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2029. Paragraph 90 (since revoked) of the December 2023 NPPF did not require Local Authorities to identify and update annually a supply of specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide a minimum of five years' worth of housing if their adopted plan is less than five-years old and it identified at least a five-year supply at the time the examination concluded. Given that the Borough Council demonstrated a five-year supply of housing land upon adoption of the Local Plan Part 2 on 9 December 2021 (and revised the housing target as explained in section 3 of this report), the borough council was not therefore previously required to prepare a position statement.

However, the December 2024 NPPF (opens new window) removed this exemption and reinstated the requirement for Local Authorities to identify and update annually a supply of specific deliverable sites. The Borough Council has therefore published its annual five-year housing land supply position statement in accordance with the latest NPPF.