A PLANNING inspector, who will decide if Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s Local Plan is adopted, has urged councillors to see if they can find a way to include an additional 100 homes per year in the housing blueprint.

As previously reported by The Gazette, the borough council |submitted the draft Local Plan, which will guide where new homes are built across the borough up to 2029, in the summer.

The document set out an annual figure of 748 new homes to be built. However, Mike Fox, the Government planning inspector who will decide if the plan is adopted, has now warned the council that putting forward a yearly figure of up to 850 new homes will put them in a better position when the plan is examined next year.

Mr Fox, left, held a public exploratory meeting at the borough council offices last Thursday, and several groups and organisations had their say about the draft Local Plan.

The inspector raised key issues with the current state of the blueprint, including concerns over the viability of 40 per cent affordable housing on all developments across the borough, questions on the environmental impacts of the incinerator, in Whitmarsh Lane, Chineham, and the impact of increased congestion on the A33.

However, the biggest issue raised by Mr Fox related to the number of houses that the council expects to be built each year – and he warned that if the council does not raise the annual figure, the plan could be deemed as unsound.

As reported earlier this year, councillors agreed to stick with the annual figure of 748 after considering a report from Edge Analytics (EA), which recommended the annual housing figure should be raised to 807.

The EA report said that housing was needed to support high levels of jobs for the borough’s successful economy and potential for international migration to rise.

When summing up his recommendations, following a day of debate on the key issues, Mr Fox told the meeting that more houses needed to be built across the country as we are in the grips of a “housing crisis”, adding: “I am doing my best to getting a plan on the road rather than knocking you into touch. I am aware there are strong environmental constraints within Basingstoke and Deane but as one person said earlier on, it is better to have an imperfect plan than no plan at all.

“Can we get the figures higher into the area where I feel we are reaching soundness? I don’t think 748 is sound. If you go with the figure of 748, you are at high risk of having the plan determined as unsound.”

Adam Dodgson, interim policy manager for planning policy and infrastructure, told Mr Fox that the borough council would be happy to include additional information in the plan.

Councillor Mark Ruffell, Cabinet member for planning, told a full council meeting later that day that a report on where the additional homes could be found would be considered in January, adding: “It is clear from what he said that we are within touching distance of having a sound plan.”

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