NEW planning targets that will force a 30% rise in housebuilding in South Gloucestershire are a “fairytale” and an “attack on green spaces”, critics say.
The new Labour government has announced what it calls “radical” changes to how many new homes it thinks each local authority should be required to find land for.
In South Gloucestershire it means an increase from 1,317 at present to 1,717 new homes every year over the next 15 years – a total of 6,000 more than currently planned.
Other authorities have also been told to allocate more land for housing, but Bristol’s target, like many urban areas, will fall by 10%, from 3,378 to 3,057 a year.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner announced changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which underpins the planning system, in the House of Commons on July 30.
The reforms, subject to eight weeks of consultation, change the method used to calculate how many homes should be built in each area, with targets increased depending on how much higher property prices are than earnings.
Some existing Greenbelt land deemed to be low quality, such as disused petrol stations and car parks, will be redesignated “grey belt”, with less protection from development.
In South Gloucestershire, opposition Conservative councillors say the changes come on top of proposed increases in housing on Greenbelt sites in the current Local Plan, which is in its latest stage of consultation, including “large swathes” of land near Shortwood and north of Lyde Green.
Tory group leader Sam Bromiley said: “These new rules are yet another attack on South Gloucestershire’s precious green spaces and we will continue to fight them every step of the way.
“Reclassifying greenbelt land as ‘grey belt’ in order to force developments through while ordering South Gloucestershire to take ever increasing amounts of housing, all while completely dismissing the views of local people, is, quite simply, an appalling way for a government to behave.”
Former council leader Claire Young, who is now Thornbury & Yate’s MP and remains a Liberal Democrat ward councillor in Frampton Cotterell, branded the proposals a “fairytale”.
She said: “I know how important it is that we see houses built – especially smaller, more affordable homes that young people and new families can afford to buy or rent.
“But seeking to simply jack up the top-down targets without addressing concerns about supporting infrastructure or protecting our green spaces is not the way to make this happen.
“Here in South Gloucestershire, we’re already struggling to meet current targets – never mind having to also locate space for 6,000 extra properties. It’s frankly a fairytale.
“That’s why I’m urging the Government to rethink these proposals and instead ensure developers build the infrastructure and quality social homes we need.”
In July campaigners held a demonstration outside a council cabinet meeting, as Lib Dem/Labour coalition members approved the next stage of a 15-year blueprint for the district’s future.
It added a further 17 sites, nine in the greenbelt, to those already identified, potentially allowing the development of 22,241 homes from 2025 to 2040.
That would represent almost 1,500 new homes a year, which is more than in previous blueprints but still short of the new government target if 1,717, which could require the council to go back and find even more sites for housing.
Asked to comment on Ms Rayner’s announcement, a council spokesperson said the authority would “evaluate the impacts” of the proposed NPPF reforms as part of the current Local Plan consultation, as they “have implications across our Local Plan”.
The council said some “immediate good points” of the NPPF reforms were changes to allow councils to set “ambitious climate targets” and ensure as many new homes as possible are social housing.
The spokesperson added: “Other elements, particularly in relation to housing numbers, are more complex to interpret and have some unexpected implications that require working through before the council can comment on the impact.”
The council is inviting comments until September 13 on the latest stage of its Local Plan online at southglos.gov.uk/newlocalplan.
People who are not online can call the council on 01454 868009.
Campaign group Save Our Green Spaces-SG is planning another demonstration in September: a march from Warmley to Bridgeyate on September 7, leaving at 11am.
It is encouraging people to dress up and carry posters and banners.
By Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporting Service