BASINGSTOKE and Deane Borough Council's (BDBC) cabinet has called for the government to end the uncertainty about how many new homes will be built in the borough.

One of the first things the new leadership did was to write to Michael Gove, the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, appealing for urgent clarity about how the area’s housing figure will be set in future and asking for a meeting.

In the letter, the council’s leader Cllr Paul Harvey and co-leader Cllr Gavin James criticised the “flawed and simplistic” rigid formula for calculating housing targets still being in place. This is despite the secretary of state announcing in December last year that there would be flexibility to reflect local circumstances in reforms to the national planning system.

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Cabinet member for strategic planning and infrastructure Cllr Andy Konieczko said: “As a new administration, we recognise how important the local plan is in giving our residents certainty about future development in their areas.

“People who have grown up here need the opportunity to set up their own home and get a good job in the borough, as well as enjoy a good quality of life with access to jobs, facilities and services.

“But we all agreed that the number of homes being built in Basingstoke and Deane needs to slow down so that infrastructure, facilities and services that current and new residents need can catch up. 

Work on updating Basingstoke and Deane's local plan, the blueprint that will guide development and planning decisions in the borough to at least 2029, was paused to fully consider a suitable housing number for the borough that meets needs but that also takes account of the characteristics of the area.

The cabinet is now keen to move forward with consulting residents on a draft plan to give more clarity about where new homes will go in the future.

Cllr Konieczko continued: "We need to be released from the government planning straitjacket where the housing figure for our borough is set using a national formula that doesn’t consider local circumstances.

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“We want to listen to the view of local residents about getting the balance of house-building right. And perhaps the government should adopt the same approach.

“Despite the lack of certainty from Whitehall, we recognise that residents want us to restart the process of updating the Local Plan as soon as possible. That’s what we’re doing - we’re reviewing the policies to make them stronger and exploring options for how best to make the housing number work for our borough. 

“We’ll bring a report with more details to the Economic, Planning and Housing Committee shortly and then aim to start meeting with local communities in the autumn.”