Fears of ‘Developer Free For All’ Across Harborough

There are fears of a ‘developer free for all’ after it emerged Harborough District Council no longer has a five-year housing land supply – which is a government stipulation.

Recent changes to national planning policy are being blamed for the situation, which could lead to speculative and opportunistic housing plans being submitted.

The council will be in the position for around 18 months, until its new Local Plan is adopted.

Cllr Phil King, who represents Kibworth, told HFM it is a serious situation:

The Government’s new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was published last month and applied immediately to planning application decisions.

It means if planning applications for housing are refused by the council, developers can appeal on the grounds of the lack of supply, which would be taken into account by Planning Inspectors reviewing the decisions.

Cllr Simon Galton, Cabinet Lead for Planning says the loss of the 5-year supply is a direct consequence of the increased housing numbers published by the Government.

He spoke of the implications at a council meeting this week:

The council says it is working hard to mitigate the reduction in its housing land supply by continuing work on its new Local Plan to provide for future housing and sustainable development across the Harborough district, in order to close the gap between housing supply and requirements.