District facing 33% increase in housebuilding

East Herts could be required to build an additional 273 homes a year on top of the existing requirement for 839 if new housing need figures are adopted.

A new report presented to the Executive Committee of East Herts Council on Tuesday outlines the need to review the 2018 District Plan, as required by the National Planning Policy Framework.

The council's District Plan was adopted in 2018 and aims to provide new homes, jobs, facilities and infrastructure across the District. It also contains policies that are used to determine planning applications.

Changes to the way housing need is calculated were introduced by the government in 2018, after the current District Plan was adopted, meaning that the council will need find space for 33% more homes over the coming years. The current plan calls for 839 new homes to be built every year, whereas using the new calculation, the figure would increase to 1,112 new homes a year.

The report recommends that in the coming months the council commences work on updating the technical studies needed to support an review of the District Plan and that a 'Call for Sites' is undertaken. 

A 'Call for Sites' is an opportunity for landowners, developers, agents and site promoters to submit sites which may be considered to have the potential for future development. The exercise does not allocate land for housebuilding but does identify a potential pool of sites for further consideration through a range of technical work to assess their sustainability, suitability and deliverability.