Issue - meetings

The purpose of the report is to:

-        highlight the content of the Interim Housing Position Statement to Boost Supply which has been prepared as a positive and proactive response to the lack of a five-year housing land supply,

-        note the timeline for next steps to progress to Cabinet for a decision to approve the document.

Contact:  Mathias Franklin,  Head of Planning and Development and Andrea Lane, Senior Planning Officer,

Councillor Graham Turner, Cabinet Member for Finance and Regeneration, introduced the item, advising the Panel that the report being presented, outlines the aim to boost housing supply, in light of the fact that there is no longer a five year housing land supply, which needs to be addressed.   He explained that the presenting officers will go through this in more detail and there will be an opportunity for the Panel to ask questions and make comment regarding the content of the report.

Andrea Lane, Team Leader, Planning Policy and Strategy, informed the Panel that the Kirklees Local Plan requirement is to build 1,730 new homes each year.  Since the local plan was adopted in 2019, Kirklees has successfully maintained a rolling supply of housing land against this requirement.  However, the 2023 annual update of the five-year housing land supply positions, demonstrates 3.96 years supply of housing land.

The Panel was informed that when an authority does not have a five-year land supply, this triggers a presumption in favour of sustainable development.   This means that when planning applications for housing are being determined, they should be considered in the context of presumption in favour of sustainable development, known as ‘Tilted Balance’.

The presumption in favour of development is triggered, unless the policies that protect areas or assets are of a particular importance, such as the green belt, or listed buildings provides a clear reason for refusal, or the adverse impacts of the development significantly outweigh the benefits.

The Panel was informed that as a response to this trigger, officers have prepared an Interim Housing Position Statement to provide clarity to agents, developers and the public, regarding how the Tilted Balance will be applied to planning applications for housing, in light of the lack of a five-year housing land supply.

The statement sets out three principles that will be used in the decision making when determining planning applications:

First principle  -       sets out what the presumption in favour of development means, what the policy is, and that is taken from national planning policy guidance which has to be applied when there is a lack of five-year land supply.  This does not mean it will overrule general planning considerations

Second principle -   relates to safeguarded landsites as these sites are currently protected in the local plan from development but are intended to be assessed for future development in the next local plan.  These sites were not allocated for housing in the local plan because they would have some specific site constraints, such as highway issues. Assumption in favour of sustainable development will be applied to these sites where these constraints can be overcome

Third principle -       relates to the quality of design, high quality design to ensure developments continue to achieve well-designed high-quality homes and quality places

The summary also includes a summary of wider council actions that are already being undertaken to boost supply and deliver new homes, such as work with Housing Growth and the Homes and Neighbourhoods team.

The Panel  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7