Government Confirms Doubling of Housing Target for Guildford

Published on: 12 Dec, 2024
Updated on: 12 Dec, 2024

By Martin Giles

Guildford Borough Council has responded to Government plans to increase housing targets in Guildford and across the South East – in Guildford by more than 100 per cent.

Changes to the national planning policy and the number of new homes demanded were announced by the Government today (December 12).

The current Local Plan, adopted controversially in 2019, states a need for 562 new homes a year. This figure was reached using the methodology previously set out in national policy but was nonetheless felt too high by many residents especially those in the villages around Guildford most affected.

But under the new Standard Method calculation there is an increased mandatory target of 1,170 new homes a year for Guildford (up slightly from the earlier announced figure of 1,102).

During Labour’s election campaign the party made no secret of its intentions to confront what it called the “blockers” and Nimbys claiming it was far to easy for them to resist development.

In Guildford GBC was ahead of its 562 target and delays to development on strategic sites were in large part because plans have not come forward; councils cannot force developers to build or force owners to develop brownfield sites.

Labour has also created a new category of so-called “grey belt” land to help achieve its overall target of 1.5 million homes over this Parliament.

At first grey belt was described as previously developed land within the green belt, although to most this was already considered “brownfield” and a priority for redevelopment, but the Labour candidate at the last election admitted she knew of no “grey belt” sites in Guildford Borough. Now it is given a more nebulous “low-quality green belt” description.

According to LandTech, which provides data on sites with development potential, the Government announcements so far suggest green belt sites for up to 316,000 homes will be unlocked for development nationwide. In Guildford Borough, LandTech claims to have has identified 37 such sites totalling 98 hectares.

But some developers have said that there is not the capacity in the building industry to achieve the new targets while there remains widespread concern that the required infrastructure, road space, NHS resources, school places, water and electricity supplies and sewage capacity will not be provided, something already complained of with developments to date.

Cllr Fiona White

Cllr Fiona White, GBC’s lead councillor for Planning, says: “The changes to the method for calculating housing need have led to a significant increase in the number of new homes we must plan for in our borough. It will be incredibly challenging to accommodate this revised mandatory level of growth.

“We face several constraints in Guildford, and stronger infrastructure will be needed to support this increase in development.”

Areas in the borough are protected beyond Green Belt designation, including the Surrey Hills National Landscape, the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area, and sites of conservation importance. Parts of Guildford are also prone to flooding, particularly in Guildford town by the River Wey. The council says it will still follow the principle of brownfield sites for redevelopment first.

In addition to the increased housing number, the revised NPPF includes:

changes to the review of Green Belt land and its potential release

information on low-quality Green Belt land, known as Grey Belt, and how it could be used

changes to the mix of housing types to be developed, including affordable and social housing

an emphasis on a plan-led planning system.

Cllr White adds: “We support a plan-led planning system and believe changes to affordable and social housing in the NPPF are a positive step. However, when the Government proposed changes to the NPPF we responded to their consultation and raised several concerns. These concerns remain.

“We gave feedback on how housing numbers were to be calculated. We also raised the issue of speculative development applications, and the potential release of Green Belt land during the update period for our Local Plan.”

The changes to national planning policy will have immediate effect, and whilst some aspects in relation to plan-making have a transitional phase, these relate to councils who are at an advanced stage of plan preparation, so is not relevant to Guildford.

Cllr White explains: “We’ve already started work to update our Local Plan, and we’ll now fully consider how the changes to the NPPF will impact our planning policies and the future shape of our borough. We’ll need to demonstrate how this new level of development can be accommodated and show that we’ve considered all options.

“We want local people to have access to decent and affordable homes, but they need to be the right, well-designed homes in the right places. We also need to make sure development delivers sustainable communities for our residents and businesses.”

Other local parties have been invited to comment.

You can read the NPPF on the Government website.

You can also view the Government’s response to the consultation and the indicative local housing need.