Somerset housing target could fall by nearly 15,000 homes

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 9 Nov, 07:04 · Archive

Somerset Council may reduce its Local Plan housing target from nearly 75,000 to around 60,000 homes by 2045.

Somerset Council is assessing feedback from public consultation on its new Local Plan, which will come into force in spring 2029. The plan was originally expected to deliver nearly 75,000 houses by 2045, representing more than 3,600 homes per year, following a steep government increase in local authority housing targets.

Council officers have indicated they may reduce the scope of the plan from 20 years to 16, which would reduce the number of new housing sites needed to be allocated. This change would cut the target by around 15,000 homes.

David Orr, a Taunton resident, raised concerns at the council's planning and transport policy executive sub-committee meeting on 28 October about whether high housing targets actually translate into homes being built. He pointed to Taunton's history: designated a 'principal urban area' in 2001, it was given a regional target of 20,000 additional homes by 2026, but by March 2022 only 11,868 net additional homes had been delivered across the wider Taunton Deane area, with Taunton itself achieving lower figures.

How it is being reported

• Planned number of new homes in Somerset by 2045 could be cut by nearly 15,000The new Somerset Local Plan will come into force in May 2029 - but a crucial decision on how many new homes it will have to provide will be taken soonBridgwater Mercury · 9 Nov, 05:00
• Planned number of new homes in Somerset by 2045 could be cut by nearly 15,000The new Somerset Local Plan will come into force in May 2029 - but a crucial decision on how many new homes it will have to provide will be taken soonSomerset County Gazette · 9 Nov, 05:00

In this story: Somerset Council · Somerset · Taunton · David Orr

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