Local Plan Progress across Hertfordshire – A bit of a ‘Grey’ Area.
Hertfordshire remains a tale of two halves, with the North-East appearing to be awaiting more certainty on the emerging reforms before progressing with new plans and reviews. Moving forward, this is the geographical area where the best opportunities for new strategic land promotion are located.
However, the South-West of the County appears to be progressing in earnest under the provisions of the December 2023 NPPF, thus attempting to avoid the emerging changes in National Policy.
As shown in the table below, only two Herts Authorities would see a reduction in housing requirements under the emerging Local Housing Need Standard Method (LHNSM), with sizable uplifts notably across St Albans, Hertsmere and Dacorum in the south-west, all of which are seeking to progress plans with lower housing numbers.
In addition to the potential uplifts in housing requirements, the proposed change in emphasis around the status of the Green Belt and the new categorisation of ‘Grey-Belt’ land is clearly having a significant influence on Local Plan progress.
Dare we say, but it would appear that some of these authorities are ignoring the Written Ministerial Statement and national drive for increased housing delivery and are rushing their homework to get it submitted before the transitional arrangements would take effect.
So subject to the progress these Local Authorities are able to make over the next couple of months and what changes are made following the consultation to the NPPF/LHNSM in the New Year, we could see some very interesting Local Plan Examinations coming forward in the year ahead!
Five-Year Land Supply
Hertfordshire’s Green Belt coverage is sizable, so despite the Housing Delivery Test (HDT) results shown above, the tilted balance ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’ only applies to areas outside of the Green Belt. As such, although the proposed changes around the use of Grey Belt may have an impact, Very Special Circumstances are required to justify speculative proposals. Nevertheless, the housing need and lack of supply remain a material consideration.
It remains unclear when the 2023 HDT will be published (possibly later this year) but they are expected to show a worsening result for most Hertfordshire LPAs. Evidence on the status of future supply is patchy across Hertfordshire, but it is probable that all LPAs will struggle to demonstrate a 5YHLS.
For more information see our insight piece from our socio-economic team from August 2024 - Less Housing Talk, More House Building
