East Hampshire District Council has once again told the Government that formulaic calculations relating to new homes are inherently unfair for East Hampshire.
In a letter to Matthew Pennycook MP, the Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Cllr Richard Millard, EHDC’s Leader, said the government’s calculations for the Housing Delivery Test unfairly penalise planning authorities intersected by national parks.
The letter has been backed by both MPs in the East Hampshire area, Damian Hinds MP, (East Hampshire) and Greg Stafford MP (Farnham and Bordon)
East Hampshire District is dissected by the South Downs National Park (SDNP), which covers 57 per cent of the district geographically and approximately 26 per cent of its housing stock. East Hampshire District Council is the planning authority only for the remaining 43 per cent.
The Housing Delivery Test (HDT) measures how many homes have been delivered against the ‘target’ over a three year period. The way the calculation works means East Hampshire is being measured against the housing ‘target’ for the whole district, when it is the planning authority for only 43 per cent of the district, and cannot control how many new homes are delivered in the SDNP. This is exacerbated by the government-imposed increased housing number for the district, of 1,124 homes a year. Falling foul of the HDT adds to the pressure of speculative development in our area.
Cllr Richard Millard said: “We have, once again, written to the government to express our serious concerns about formulaic calculations and how they disproportionately impact East Hampshire.
“We are concerned that the current HDT methodology is not fit for purpose for our area and should be revised.
“We are being judged on aspects of housing delivery that are outside our control. The SDNPA faces no consequences for not delivering homes in East Hampshire, whereas EHDC faces serious consequences, such as the increased threat of speculative and uncontrolled development. This is inherently unjust. It is an issue not just for East Hampshire but for all council areas covered by national parks up and down the country. The government needs to change how the HDT is calculated to take account of this.”
In the letter the council asserts that the Housing Delivery Target should not be measured on a district-wide basis in areas split between multiple planning authorities. Instead, it should be based on the local housing need and delivery performance of the relevant LPA only.