“East Devon District Council is calling on you to press the government to find a more positive approach to solving the housing crisis and a move away from algorithms that pay no regard to the consequences of new housing numbers on the environment and the communities affected by growth.”
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Over the weekend the question was being asked whether “England has a dearth of housing” – with the question being shared on local social media.
Interestingly, another question posed over the weekend was around selling off the Sidford Business Park site, which is still on the market one year on – and which includes “details of an access that is most likely to be suitable for Residential use”. There have been further exchanges on local social media speculating about “all the people who are queuing up to live next to a sewage plant”.
And yet it is clear that we need new initiatives for rural housing, with the Bishop of Exeter recently saying that “we need cross-departmental working and cross-party agreement to forge a coherent long-term strategy that will secure good housing and the flourishing of our rural and coastal communities.”
Being ‘cross-departmental/party’ probably doesn’t mean imposing housing quotas from central government – which were abandoned at the end of last year, with the East Devon Local Plan being to all intents and purposes put on hold, as it wasn’t clear what its housing target is now.
At the time, the District Council’s leadership made clear its frustration:
Cllr Dan Ledger, Chair of EDDC strategic planning: “The government enforces arbitrary housing numbers that district & unitary councils must follow otherwise we lose planning powers. This opens the door for even less sustainable development. In the next couple of years there will be tough decisions to make. I just hope that the public can understand the challenges presented and we can all work together to get the best future plan for our district.”
Cllr Paul Arnott, EDDC Leader: “We need feedback. Once we have all this information back, and we have clear legislation from the government, this administration will make sure that we do all we can early in the New Year to take advantage in the interests of the people and environment of East Devon.”
There hasn’t been much indication from central government about where it intends to go – apart from pronouncements about how many houses have been built, as factchecked by the BBC last month.
The District Council’s strategic planning met last week to consider a report questioning the government’s standard method for assessing housing need.
And following on from that meeting, the political leadership at the District Council has just written to local MPs about the government’s ‘flawed’ housing targets:
The letter to Mel Stride, MP for Central Devon, Richard Foord, MP for Tiverton and Honiton, and Simon Jupp, MP for East Devon, reads [opening and closing paragraphs]:
Dear Mel, Richard and Simon,
Standard Method for Calculating Housing Need
We are writing on behalf of East Devon District Council following a debate at a meeting of the Council’s Strategic Planning Committee on the 5th September in which Members agreed to write to all of our local MP’s asking for your support in seeking a review of the standard methodology for calculating housing need and a more positive approach to solving the housing crisis…
East Devon District Council is calling on you to press the government to find a more positive approach to solving the housing crisis and a move away from algorithms that pay no regard to the consequences of new housing numbers on the environment and the communities affected by growth. We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely, Councillor Paul Arnott, leader of the council and Councillor Olly Davey, Portfolio Holder for Strategic Planning
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