Government blocks local plan as not enough housing

The government has put a council's blueprint for the future on hold because it does not include enough houses.

The minister for housing and planning has told Three Rivers District Council in Hertfordshire that their local plan has a shortfall of more than 5,000 dwellings.

It has been ordered not to take the plan any further until the minister has decided whether to direct that changes are made.

The council says it will comply with an order to provide evidence for its housing numbers within a fortnight.

Councils have to have local plans to guide development, manage land use and decide whether to approve planning applications.

These plans have to be kept up-to-date.

Three Rivers District Council is going through the process of producing its latest version, but the minister for housing and planning, Matthew Pennycook, has written to the council to say it is not good enough.

His letter says the plan only provides for 56% of the houses the district will need between now and 2041.

He wrote: "I have little confidence that your emerging plan is satisfactory and capable of being found sound or legally compliant at examination."

He has put the plan on hold and given the council two weeks to provide evidence to support its position.

He will then decide whether to order changes to the plan.

Stephen Giles-Medhurst, who leads the Liberal Democrat minority administration, said he was "disappointed at the intervention at this stage".

He hoped the minister would take into account that the district was 76% greenbelt but "we are open to discussion [and] cooperation and will certainly provide all the evidence".

He accepted that the minister could insist on a figure in excess of 12,000 new houses, whereas the local plan as it stood allowed for 7,500.

OIiver Cooper, the leader of the Conservative group, said the council only provided "one line" of evidence to support ruling out large developments.

He added: "Providing one line provides no defence of our greenbelt whatsoever, and yet the council leadership thought it knew better."

Stephen Cox, the leader of the council's Labour group, said: "The council, as requested, will now supply the rationale as to why it came up with the number of new homes that it did, which was short of even the previous Conservative government's housing targets.

"Even the night before the plan was settled upon, the Tories were arguing for fewer sites and an even lower number of homes whilst simultaneously having claimed the council's figure of 7,027 was itself not enough.

"People can see how stupid that is."

Rue Grewal, who leads the Independent group, said she knew "how much time and effort residents have put into engaging with the process and why this letter has caused such frustration and concern".

Chris Mitchell from the Green group was "very disappointed", and said officers and councillors had "put in so much work and evidence to build a very balanced local plan".

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