Local Plan monitoring

Housing Delivery Test Action Plan

The Housing Delivery Test (HDT) has been introduced by Government as a monitoring tool to demonstrate whether enough homes are being built in Local Planning Authority areas to meet local housing need by comparing the number of new homes delivered over the previous 3 years with the local housing requirement.

The result of the HDT is used to determine the appropriate buffer (moved forward from a later plan period) to apply to housing land supply and whether the presumption in favour of sustainable development should apply (further information can be found in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) 2021 at paragraphs 74-77 and paragraphs 11 and 14).

The HDT results for 2020 published by the Government in January 2021, covering the 3 years prior to 2020, confirmed that of a requirement to build 803 dwellings, 439 net new dwellings were built resulting in a HDT measurement of 55%.  

Consequently, the Council is required to produce a Housing Delivery Action Plan and apply a buffer of 20% as well as applying the 'presumption in favour of sustainable development' when determining planning applications.  The Housing Delivery Action Plan examines the reasons for under delivery, explores ways to reduce the risk of further under delivery and sets out the measures the Council intends to take to improve levels of delivery.  More information about the housing delivery action plan can found in Planning Practice Guidance online.

• Housing Delivery Action Plan full document (produced as a result of the 2020 HDT) 
• Housing Delivery Action Plan extract showing Action Plan only

More information about the 5 year housing land supply can be found in the Local Plan Monitoring Report.  An addendum to the Monitoring Report to confirm the current 5 year requirements following Government figures published in March 2022 can also be found in the next section on this page.

Local Plan Monitoring Report

Review and monitoring are key aspects of the Local Plan. The Council is required to report on the progress of Local Plan preparation and to what extent Local Plan policies are being achieved. Our latest Local Plan Monitoring Report (LPMR) sets out information on housing delivery, and our 5 year housing land supply (1 April 2022 - 31 March 2027) and housing trajectory. It also includes monitoring information about employment related development.

Following the Government release of the latest affordability ratios, the 5-year housing land supply requirements have altered from those shown within the published LPMR 2020-2021.  The addendum updates table 9 and the accompanying text.

• LPMR 2020 - 2021
• Addendum to LPMR to update the 5-year housing land supply

The LPMR (2019-2020), LPMR (2017-2018) and LPMR (2016-2017) are available for information. Please note that these reports were produced for print and may not be accessible for all users.

Earlier versions of the Monitoring Report are also available.  Please contact us for details.