COUNCILLORS have come under fire for failing to reject a government push for nearly 18,000 homes in the borough – and delaying a public consultation on the local plan.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s cabinet says that more work needs to be done to determine the true level of local need for housing.

As previously reported, government calculations suggest as many as 17,820 new homes need to be built in the borough by the end of 2039.

Authority documents reveal that the authority needs to build 7,703 houses more than it currently has in the pipeline.

Earlier in September members of the economic, planning and housing committee unanimously agreed to reject the Government’s figure.

On Tuesday, September 27, cabinet members met, and it was revealed that instead of rejecting the number of homes, the council’s administration will talk to the new Secretary of State to “advocate a move away from the standard method for calculating housing need”. The authority says that the method uses data which is 13 years out of date.

READ MORE: Councillors say no to plans that would see more than 17,000 houses built in Basingstoke and Deane

It has also said that more work is needed to “identify whether there is a sound alternative to the standard method”.

Leader of Basingstoke and Deane Independent group Cllr Paul Harvey said that “nothing has actually changed” since former council leader Ken Rhatigan revealed his ambition for the borough to be the ‘capital of the south’.

“The Conservative government and the Conservative council are the reason why our borough is now an open target for speculative development, every major site that developers now try to ram through lies at the Conservatives' door,” he added.

Cllr Rhatigan said the administration’s decision “threatens communities, does nothing to protect our environment and may well bring forward greater numbers of homes at a time of other people's choosing not ours, while leaving this borough open to speculators, charlatans, profit-focused developers, while endorsing planning by appeal”.

SEE ALSO: Councillors back protestors' calls and say no to plan for 18,000 homes

He continued: “You need to tell our residents honestly what it is going to mean for them. Are you saying it is going to be alright to wait for the government to change the number, this government is holding on by the skin of its teeth looking at the economic problems we have got and yet you think it is going to run to our aid in Basingstoke and Deane, I don't think so.”

Members of Whitchurch Conservation Group attended the meeting, including Jackie Brown who said: “Whitchurch supports a move to secure a reduction in the proposed housing numbers to a level that will preserve the unique historic characteristics of the borough's rural settlements and protect the borough's environmental assets.”

They argued that a reduction in the number of homes suggested is needed to protect the town and the surrounding area.

Cabinet member for planning and infrastructure Jay Ganesh said: “The council has been working towards updating its Local Plan to ensure a plan-led approach to growth and change in the borough which meets the needs of our residents and visitors in a way that responds to the climate change agenda, ensures that communities are beautiful and sustainable, and that our environment is protected and enhanced, supporting the ecological emergency declaration.

“Whilst we have been working proactively to move forward with the development of the plan, there are significant and sustained concerns held by a range of stakeholders about the level of future growth in the area and the use of the standard method to identify the borough’s housing need.

READ MORE: Work underway to determine true level of housing need in Basingstoke and Deane

“It is important to keep the plan process going but in a way that responds to local concerns and local circumstances, as well as national policy and guidance. At the current time it has become clear that it would not be appropriate to undertake a consultation on a draft plan at this stage whilst such significant concerns around the housing numbers remain.”

Deputy leader Cllr John Izett told the meeting: “We want to send a message out to government that this system is not working, it is not one that has credibility, and we are looking for the Government to change it. That I hope is a clear message that the Government will receive from us tonight.”

Cllr Stuart Frost, member for Tadley North, Kingsclere and Baughurst, urged the council “show some leadership in not allowing the local plan to be paused or stopped or standstill.”

The local plan which sets the rules surrounding the development of the borough and can be used by developers as a blueprint on where and how to build houses.

The consultation on the draft plan is now expected to take place in autumn 2023.