Out-Law / Your Daily Need-To-Know

Waverley Council set to withdraw Core Strategy on housing need grounds

08 Oct 2013, 2:21 pm

Waverley Council's executive has recommended that the borough's emerging Core Strategy be withdrawn from examination on the grounds that it will be found unsound by the Planning Inspectorate should it proceed to examination in its current form, according to Planning magazine .

The principal concern relates to the proposed housing target contained within the emerging Core Strategy which is currently set at 230 new homes per year up to 2028. The Council's emerging Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) is indicating that housing need will in fact be in the region of 470 new homes per year.

"Whilst much of our Core Strategy is unaffected by this new evidence, we consider it the best course of action to recommend that the Council withdraws the Strategy to allow further work to be done on the housing elements" said the Council in a press release.

In light of the findings of the emerging SHMA the Council has stated that its best course of action is to withdraw the emerging Core Strategy and begin a process of review and amendment in order to look at accommodating the significantly higher level of housing need that has been identified.

The Council has said that it will "explore appropriate options" for provision of new housing in the borough. "We remain committed to the needs and views of our residents and will continue to vigorously defend the Borough from the government's demands that we build on our green spaces" said Council Leader, Robert Knowles.

The decision as to whether to formally withdraw the emerging Core Strategy is due to be taken by the full Council at a meeting on 15 October.

The Council submitted its emerging Core Strategy for examination in January 2013 and following the first examination meetings in June the Inspector informed the Council that further work would be required to assess the housing market before the Core Strategy could progress. The examination was subsequently suspended whilst the Council commissioned an updated SHMA.