Decision details

The Chairman announced that one Motion had been received in accordance with Council Procedure Rules 14.1 and 14.2, from the Green Group and the Independent Group.  The wording of this Motion had been set out in the covering agenda and is set out below:

The Council requests that the Leader of the Council writes to the Minister for Housing Communities and Local Government requesting:

    • That the Minister notes the severe problems that exist with the ‘5-year housing land supply” rules in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) as outlined above

    • That the Minister considers revising the housing land supply rules (5-year or other durations) such that, provided the planning authority has allocated sufficient land to housing in its Local Plan, the authority shall have been deemed to have met its obligations and there would be no grounds for third parties to demand the release of further land for development

    • That any other measures introduced to ensure appropriate delivery of homes should be actionable by the local authorities themselves on behalf of local people to ensure that the right homes are built for the right people, in the right places.

            The Chairman then invited the proposer of the Motion, Councillor Ms Thurston to present her Motion.

            Councillor Ms Thurston stated that her Motion addressed the 5-year land supply rules in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which was now having severe consequences for the District in terms of the number of homes being built. The Arun District was badly affected by the five-year land supply which in Arun stood at 3.7 years resulting in the Council having much less control over where development went causing great uncertainty and cost for the Council.  The Council and its residents were keen to try and change these unfair rules.  Councillor Ms Thurston stated that if this Motion was approved, Arun would be joining other Councils in trying to get the right houses built in the right places and in a planned manner.  There had also been much uncertainty since the Covid-19 lockdown with the Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government seeking to sweep away more planning regulations taking further control away from Councils. The Motion asked the Minister to stop penalising Councils and residents.    

            Finally, Councillor Ms Thurston confirmed that she proposed to slightly amend her Motion by inserting the wording “and Housing Delivery Test rules, after the words “housing land supply” in the second bullet point to read as follows:

·         That the Minister considers revising the housing land supply and housing delivery test rules (5-year or other durations) such that, provided the planning authority has allocated sufficient land to housing in its Local Plan, the authority shall have been deemed to have met its obligations and there would be no grounds for third parties to demand the release of further land for development

            The Motion including the amendment was then seconded by Councillor Dixon.

            The Chairman then invited debate on the Motion, which received the support of all Members who took part in its debate.  The support was in response to the fact that before the Council implemented its Local Plan it had the situation where there had been planning by appeal as the Council did not have the protection of a local plan.  This had caused a lot of issues and large legal costs.  The Council now had a similar issue with its land supply and there was the real threat that planning by appeal could again occur. It was hoped that there could be some flexibility in the system to allow for the construction of houses that people really wanted, this being affordable housing for younger people residing in the District and a move away from the construction of large 4-5 bedroomed executive homes.

            Councillor Dixon, as seconder to the Motion, outlined that the Motion attempted to address the current injustices in the planning system by making the Government aware of these ongoing issues and by asking it to put forward something that would be fairer for Councils.  He thanked Members for their contribution and debate.

            Councillor Ms Thurston, as proposer of the Motion, thanked Members for their understanding of the issues raised. She stated that the situation had been exasperated by Covid-19 and so it was more important than ever to keep on pushing the messages onto Government.  Other Councils were debating similar Motions with this issue being led by the Local Government Association. A final point raised was Councillor Ms Thurston’s view that the residents of the District needed to be educated on this important matter as they did not  understand this complexities being discussed and often took issue with the Council building all over the District stating that it was responsible for development occurring in places that were not allocated by Councils. The Motion would hopefully assist this ongoing problem and it was hoped that the Minister for Housing Communities and Local Government would listen.

            The Council

            RESOLVED

That the Council requests that the Leader of the Council writes to the Minister for Housing Communities and Local Government requesting:

·         That the Minister notes the severe problems that exist with the ‘5-year housing land supply” rules in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) as outlined above

·         That the Minister considers revising the housing land supply and housing delivery test rules (5-year or other durations) such that, provided the planning authority has allocated sufficient land to housing in its Local Plan, the authority shall have been deemed to have met its obligations and there would be no grounds for third parties to demand the release of further land for development; and

·         That any other measures introduced to ensure appropriate delivery of homes should be actionable by the local authorities themselves on behalf of local people to ensure that the right homes are built for the right people, in the right places.