Local Development Framework Core Strategy

Not an exciting title but this planning document will define how Waverley planning will work in the decades to come. It's pretty important!

Waverley Borough Council issued a strategy document last year for consultation. As it dealt with the number of houses to be built in the borough for the next 15 years, where there should, and shouldn't, be development and other major planning issues, it proved quite controversial, especially on housing numbers. Eventually, the council decided to go for some 160 new homes a year, a figure arrived at by estimating the number of developments that could be squeezed in to existing sites without having large-scale development on greenfield areas.

The government have changed the rules however in their recently-issued National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). It's clear that they won't allow us to get away with such a low number and so the council are having to reissue the core strategy consultation document. It will be formally released by the Executive on 7 February but is available under the committee papers for that meeting on the council's web-site. It will be widely circulated once the consultation gets under way.

After a protracted and at times heated debate, the council is plumping for 230 houses annually, a significant increase. It will involve looking for greenfield sites to achieve that scale of building. Given that the Green Belt is still set to be protected, that means that, around Farnham, the Strategic Gap between the town and Aldershot, and the land to the North-West of the town look vulnerable.

There are powerful arguments for going for 230 but my personal view is that it is too high, although I recognise that staying at 160 is not on. I won't continue the debate in this post but will return to it later. Suffice to say that there has to be a balance between providing housing, especially for those on our sky-high social housing list, and handing over a green and pleasant land to our descendents.

I think the issue will be one of the major ones for the next year or so and there is absolutely zero chance of pleasing everyone.