Wiltshire’s town and parish councils are suffering because of significant loopholes in planning legislation. These mean that carefully drafted Neighbourhood Plans can be over-ruled unless Wiltshire Council is able consistently to maintain five years’ worth of available housing land. Currently, Wiltshire does not have that critical five–year supply, which means that aggressive developers are challenging Neighbourhood Plans as soon as they are two years old. The town and parish councils say what was the point of communities working hard to produce Neighbourhood Plans only to find that after two short years the locally agreed policies can be over-turned.
Cllr Tony Nicklin DEVELOPERS should be taken to task for not building new homes as soon as they gain planning permission for them, says a Warminster town councillor. Cllr Tony Nicklin, the chairman of Warminster Town Council s planning advisory committee and chairman of the town s Neighbour Plan working group, says they are fed up of developers gaining planning approval and then sitting on their applications instead of building the new homes for which they have been given permission. Speaking during an online webinar as part of Wiltshire s Local Plan Review consultation, Cllr Nicklin asked why Warminster continues to contribute to Wiltshire Council s housing deficit.
Councils urged to ensure Local Plans are up to date
Councils urged to update their Local Plans to ensure the country gets on with building the homes it needs and in the right places.
From:
19 January 2021
Minister of State for Housing, Rt Hon Christopher Pincher MP has urged councils to update their Local Plans to ensure the country gets on with building the homes it needs and in the right places.
The Planning for the future white paper consultation published last year set out proposals to deliver a significantly simpler, faster and more predictable planning system. Councils should consider that an up-to-date plan will put them in the best possible position to deliver the homes we need.