Kirklees council under pressure to get more homes built as position worsens

Kirklees council under pressure to get more homes built as position worsens

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Kirklees Council is under even greater pressure to get homes built as it's in a ‘worse position’ than last year when it comes to housing delivery. The council aims to deliver 1,730 new


homes each year from now until 2031. But for the past three years, it has failed the ‘Housing Delivery Test’, delivering less than 75 per cent of the homes needed in the area. In addition,


national policy says that local authorities must have enough land suitable for accommodating five years’ worth of housing growth to meet local needs. For the first time since Kirklees'


Local Plan was adopted in 2019, the figure has dropped below this, with Kirklees having a housing land supply of 3.96 years as of 2023. Both of these factors mean that the council has to


apply the ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’ when determining planning applications. This means that proposed developments should be given planning permission unless the


negatives “significantly and demonstrably” outweigh the benefits. The council’s predicament was set out at last week’s Strategic Planning Committee meeting, where a council officer explained


that Kirklees is in a “worse position” regarding housing delivery than last summer. Supporting documents reiterated the need to grant planning permission for “acceptable” developments to


deliver “much-needed” housing. Councillor Graham Turner, Cabinet Member for Finance and Regeneration, said: “In light of changes to national planning policy introduced in December 2024, we


are currently reviewing implications for the five-year housing land supply in Kirklees. An updated five-year supply position will be published in the Authority Monitoring Report later in the


year. “Despite the wider pressures affecting housing delivery across the country, we remain committed to enabling high-quality housing to meet the needs of our communities now and into the


future and are updating our Housing Growth Strategy to reflect these priorities. “To boost the housing supply, we are working hard to provide planning decisions for high-quality housing


developments. In addition, our new Local Plan will help to bring forward sites and policies to support housing growth opportunities, as well as play a key role in setting out how we meet


housing needs in a sustainable and coordinated way.” Details of the council’s plan to address the region’s housing shortage was set out last year, with the Local Plan also undergoing a full


overhaul. Aside from the push to approve applications, safeguarded land could be released for housing development, prompting concern among some councillors previously. Though the council has


maintained that it is committed to delivering sustainable, high quality, well-designed developments as part of meeting the housing goals. Kirklees’ planning process has also been


streamlined in a bid to make it more efficient, with council officers given greater responsibility for deciding applications and the number of council planning committees dropped from three


to two. Progress is being made at some of the borough’s most major housing development sites, with Dewsbury Riverside to hold up to 4,000 homes. The first 350 properties are expected to be


completed by 2030. In Huddersfield, the project at Bradley Park Golf Course and adjacent Bradley Villa Farm is gaining traction, set to contain around 2,000 homes once it’s finished.


Attention is currently on the delivery of ‘Phase 1’ of the development which covers around 500 homes. _GET ALL THE LATEST AND BREAKING HUDDERSFIELD NEWS STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX BY_ _SIGNING


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