Object

Representation ID: 6245

Received: 09/09/2021

Respondent: IM Land

Agent: Barton Willmore

The Council also consider that a stepped trajectory may be more appropriate with key infrastructure such as the Black Cat Junction improvements and the East West Rail section through the Borough due to be completed by 2030, and to take account of the time required for strategic sites or new settlements to come forward (with the ambition that new sustainable travel links will be available from day one in order to embed and promote sustainable travel choices). Whilst we recognise the ongoing infrastructure improvements within the Borough. The principle of a stepped housing trajectory is not accepted. The Council should be ensuring the housing needs are met at a consistent rate throughout the plan period rather than deferring until later in the plan period. Housing need is arising now, it is not staggered. The meeting of housing need should not be deferred. We agree that larger sites take significant lengths of time before development commences and optimum rates of housing delivery are achieved, which means that the Local Plan should allocate sufficient smaller non-strategic sized sites to complement larger sites and to ensure HLS in the early to mid-term. The Council should consider sustainable sites (without extensive infrastructure requirements) that can come forward earlier in the plan period and take pressure off the delivery of a high number of sites and homes between 2030 and 2040 (especially those reliant on the delivery of infrastructure or a high level of enabling works that may be subject to delay). The Council recognises that meeting an increased minimum requirement of housing (compared to the adopted Local Plan 2030) will bring with it considerable challenges, and therefore must ensure that they also bring forward suitable and sustainable sites with less reliance on large scale infrastructure projects.