Huge house building target of 1,021 homes per year dubbed unachievable by Portsmouth Council
Huge government house building targets for the city have been criticised as being nearly double what Portsmouth City Council considers feasible.
The Labour government’s overhaul of England’s planning system includes a nationwide target of 370,000 homes per year, aiming to deliver 1.5m homes during the parliamentary term. Other reforms involve building on lower-quality 'grey belt' land with rules to ensure affordable housing, local services, and green spaces.
An additional £100m and 300 new planning officers have been allocated to accelerate decisions and stimulate economic growth, helping families get on the property ladder.
In Portsmouth, the previous housing target was 899 homes annually—a figure the council already deemed unattainable. The revised target is even higher at 1,021 homes per year.
Cllr Darren Sanders, cabinet member for housing and tackling homelessness, said: "All councils must produce a local plan providing a framework to meeting the housing and other needs in their area. That housing need is informed by the Government's standard method, which has been set at 1,021 for Portsmouth but the final target is set in our Local Plan.
“Portsmouth is a physically compact city with many constraining factors, including many historically important heritage and natural areas, that limit options for development growth. Portsmouth City Council has produced and consulted on a Local Plan that can provide 680 homes a year in Portsmouth and, through cooperation with neighbouring authorities, reached agreement that more homes will be provided in adjacent local authority areas.
“We believe that this is a maximum achievable number of new homes that can be built in the city and we've been working hard to approve new housing wherever possible, having granted planning permission for over 4,000 new homes in 2023 and 2024.
“The council will be submitting its Local Plan to Government later this winter under the Government's published national policy. This will not therefore be examined against this new 1,021 target, but the against the previous target of 899 homes. On that basis this change to the Government's methodology has not impacted on the progress of the Local Plan."