Issue details

To provide the Executive with an update on the Housing Delivery Test, including an explanation of the figures recently announced, and a projection of anticipated results for the next five years.

The Housing Delivery Test (HDT) is a new measurement introduced under the revisions to the NPPF in 2018.  It is designed to ensure that new homes are built at a rate commensurate with the housing requirement.  The housing requirement is based on the figures within a Local Plan adopted in the past five years, or the standard methodology for calculating housing need.

The implications of the HDT places much greater emphasis on the granting of sufficient planning permissions to ensure that a sufficient number of homes are delivered on the ground.  The sanctions for not passing the HDT include losing the primacy of the Local Plan and complying with the presumption in favour of sustainable development.   They apply even in a situation where the Council can demonstrate a five-year housing land supply.