Five Year Housing Supply and Housing Action Plan consultation July 2020
The council is holding a four week consultation into the draft Five Year Housing Land Supply (5YHLS) and Housing Action Plan and is keen to hear your views.
Draft Five Year Housing Land Supply (5YHLS) report
The council has prepared a draft 5YHLS report setting out the housing land supply for the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2025.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) requires the council to update their 5YHLS in a timely fashion based on up to date robust evidence and to provide clear evidence and consult with stakeholders on drawing up their report.
As part of this process we have contacted landowners and developers or representatives to confirm what progress has been made in delivery of their sites. This information has been used to inform the draft 5YHLS.
In your response you may wish to comment on the following:
- The methodology and assumptions used in the draft 5YHLS report.
- Provide additional information on specific identified sites.
Draft Housing Action Plan (HAP)
The council has prepared a draft HAP which sets out actions it will take to improve housing delivery.
The Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) sets out that housing action plans are documents that are used to "identify the reasons for under-delivery, explore ways to reduce the risk of further under-delivery and set out measures the authority intends to take to improve levels of delivery".
The housing delivery test was published in February 2020 and reports on the performance of housing delivery over the last three years. Councils are expected to achieve a target of 95 per cent. West Suffolk delivered 105 per cent of its need. As a new authority in April 2019, rates were published for each separate former authority.
Officers have prepared a light touch housing action plan and are seeking comments on the draft in order to ensure the council is actively doing all it can to deliver the housing need in West Suffolk.
In your response you may wish to comment on the following:
- The proposed actions
The consultation, on both documents, will run from Tuesday 14 July to Tuesday 11 August (5pm) 2020.
We welcome comments from everyone, and are particularly interested to hear from those involved in the house building industry, including stakeholders.
Comments should be submitted to the strategic planning team:
By email to planning.policy@westsuffolk.gov.uk
By post to strategic Planning Team, West Suffolk House, Western Way, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP33 3YU
Once the consultation is closed, we will review all comments received and make any necessary changes to the reports. We will set out how we have responded to these points in the final 5YHLS and HAP reports, expected to be publish in August 2020.