Speculative development pressures – 5-year housing land supply
WHPC shares residents' disappointment that despite objections from residents, the Parish Council and Ward Member Cllr Jess Bailey, the East Devon District Council (EDDC) Planning Committee approved an application by Blue Cedar Homes for the erection of up to 30 dwellings on land north of Eastfield, West Hill (23/0727/MOUT). The full Committee Report is under the documents tab on the planning portal.
The site lies outside the Built Up Area Boundary but one of the important factors considered by the Planning Committee was the fact that East Devon District Council cannot currently demonstrate that it has a full 5-year housing land supply in East Devon. The 5-year housing land supply is a calculation of whether there is a deliverable supply of homes to meet the planned housing requirement (or, in some circumstances, local housing need) over the next 5 years. The calculation method is set by government and reviewed by local authorities every year. You can read more about it on the government website.
Under the government's National Planning Policy Framework, if the 5-year housing land supply cannot be met, the “tilted balance” applies in favour of granting planning permission. In other words, substantial weight has to be given to bolstering the housing land supply when making planning decisions. This is leading to speculative applications for development in some places, and also makes appeals more likely. EDDC have said: “We fully recognise that this is a challenging, although not uncommon, set of circumstances for those communities affected. This does not mean we have to approve inappropriate or poor development, and we encourage you to continue to make your views on proposals known to us through consultations on individual applications”.
WHPC will continue to make its views, and those of residents, known when commenting on planning applications.
Cllr Alison Carr, Chairman WHPC
15th November 2023
