New Forest District Council has today formally launched its Call for Sites consultation for its next Local Plan.
Its comes after the authority opened its Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) Consultation, which we told you about last week on Wednesday October 23.
The Call for Sites Consultation will be running until Friday 13th December 2024.
This is the opportunity for landowners, developers and any other stakeholder parties with legal interests in land to submit their sites to the council for consideration as part of the next Local Plan making process; which the council will be commencing, as previously noted, in earnest.
Adam Bennett, KPPC Planning Director, said: “There will be significant pressure upon New Forest District Council to release additional land from the Green Belt as part of this plan making process with the clear direction provided by the Government within the upcoming National Planning Policy Framework being a requirement to meet local needs for housing in full.
“The implications for New Forest are significant, as noted in a National Policy Note I prepared a few months ago.
“New Forest are prospectively to see a 101% increase in housing need to 1,465 homes a year. This will mean the need to allocate significant additional sites, alongside addressing the non-delivery of sites previously allocated within the last Local Plan (2016) within the plan period of the new Local Plan.
“There are therefore clear opportunities to promote land on the periphery of existing settlements.
“The council will be obligated to meet their housing need in full, and this includes releasing Green Belt land to do so. The new NPPF, as issued in draft, is clear on this point.”
Adam’s comprehensive National Policy Note of August explained new planning announcements by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government following the general election – including the return of mandatory housing targets.
It included housing figure increases, from 521 new homes per year in the adopted Local Plan of 2016 for the New Forest District Council area and 729 under the current standard methodology figure to the proposed new standard methodology figure of 1,4654 under the government reforms.
We will be contacting our existing clients with land interests that we have previously promoted, or whom we have advised that the Local Plan making process was upcoming, to put together submissions to ensure that your land interests are appropriately promoted.
Adam said: “If you consider you have a site that you would like to see promoted, which you consider would be suitable for development or you otherwise would like our advice on whether it is worth promoting your land, please do reach out to us and we will be happy to assist you with this.”
An email from the policy and plans team at the council said: “The Call for Sites is an opportunity for landowners, site promoters, development interests and communities to suggest possible sites to the council that may be suitable for development or that could be used in a more productive way or for a more beneficial use.
“It is open to both previously developed land and potential greenfield sites. We are interested to hear about potential opportunities for housing, commercial and community uses, open space and land suitable for nature recovery or offsetting the environmental impacts of development.”
Please contact us to discuss your site or for a copy of Adam’s National Policy Note on 01202 538800 or info@kppcltd.co.uk.
