Introduction

The Government published a revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in December 2024. A key focus of the revised NPPF is to significantly increase the delivery of housing nationally. This means the housing need for Test Valley has substantially increased by 78%.

We consulted on a full draft Local Plan (Regulation 18 Stage 2) in February to April 2024, which included setting out how we were seeking to meet our housing needs. It proposed a series of site allocations to meet this. However, the revised NPPF means we now need to update our housing needs and allocate additional housing sites. To do this, we have had to update the timescale for preparing the draft Local Plan.

The revised NPPF also led to changes in how our 5 year supply of housing land is calculated. As the adopted local plan (2016) is over 5 years old, we are required to use the national housing requirement of 934 homes per year. This means our current housing land supply is below 5 years and puts us at risk of speculative development and which is why we are moving forward at pace with a Revised Regulation 18 Local Plan.

The draft Local Plan 2042 Revised Regulation 18 Local Plan consultation is focussed on how the Council is seeking to meet the governments increase in housing need for Test Valley. This includes updating our spatial strategy, housing requirement and the sites needed to accommodate this.

Any consequential changes of increasing our housing requirements and allocation of sites, such as impact on our employment needs and local gaps, are also explained.

The Draft Local Plan 2042 Revised Regulation 18 document is available to view in the attachment below.