Project Overview
The Council adopted their local plan in May 2016, almost seven years ago, and has begun work on their new local plan, although this has been delayed, anticipating the publication of a draft plan for consultation in Autumn 2023.
Until this plan is adopted, it appears likely that the Council will continue to lack the requisite sites for housing given that the latest position is only able to demonstrate 3.2 years’ worth of housing sites.
This number is receding rather than improving. In the absence of a 5-year housing land supply, the presumption in favour of sustainable development applies.
The tilted balance puts pressure on the Council to produce new homes and gives applicants the advantage with a strong position from which to progress speculative applications.
Planning in Basingstoke and Deane
Interestingly, where there is a neighbourhood plan in place, the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) provides extra protection, but this only applies in communities where the neighbourhood plan became part of the development plan within the last two years and where it contains policies and allocations to meet its identified housing requirement.
Amazingly, most of the Neighbourhood Plans other than the Burghclere Neighbourhood Plan (until May 2023), do not provide this protection (note: current Government consultation suggests that the additional protection for some Neighbourhood Plan areas is in the pipeline).
If you have a project involving housing development in Basingstoke and Deane, there is still the opportunity to take advantage of the lack of a five year supply in most parts of the Borough.
We recommend acting sooner rather than later to take advantage of this situation.
In the meantime, the Council has recently adopted a master plan setting out the vision for the Town Centre Strategy for Basingstoke.
The master plan seeks to attract more people into the town centre improving its vibrancy and vitality in an effort to responding to high street decline. This is a trend most areas of the UK are facing as more and more retail outlets move to online only. https://www.bell-cornwell.co.uk/news/the-future-of-the-high-street/
For further information about this project or to find out how we can help with your proposals please get in touch.
