Northamptonshire Expansion - 2010 Diary

07 Nov 2010  -  New Localism Bill now expected on 18 Nov 2010 / Housing Targets

According to information circulating on the internet, the much publicised Localism Bill is now expected to be published on or around 18th November.  There is no doubt that it will have an affect on housing targets. How, is unclear.

Another slight variation, but only in layout, of the Housing Trajectory Table has now been published by the WNJPU. Please see a copy below.  Let us assume that these are the final figures.

There does not appear to be any recently published documentation that demonstrates the approach taken in arriving at these latest housing projections.  Referring to recent entries in the Expansion Diary:

• The housing projections first published in October  were described as reflecting 'natural growth'

• These figures were then revised upwards, mainly to take account of Daventry's growth aspirations

• It was stated that Northamptonshire's population may naturally grow by 35,000 in the period 2010 to 2026

• However, it is unclear how inward migration associated with new businesses affects these figures.

If you take into account the fall in the average number of people per household, and the ratio of people who are in employment, then the proposed housing targets in the Trajectory Table may appear to be low compared with the current expectations of the Councils.

It was expected that the recent revision of housing numbers would be a summation of projections from each of the three Councils, taking into account local needs. However, the approach still appears to be totally top-down, usually associated with comments about, or links to, land availability. We now need to wait until the release of the Localism Bill to establish if the new approach to planning housing numbers will be radical, and if the proposed numbers will need to be completely revised again.

Click here to link to the WNJPU website, or click on the image to download the document directly.

The charts that can be downloaded from the entries in the Expansion Diary dated the 3rd and the 5th Nov 10 remain as the older versions.

Date last updated:  07 Nov 2010                                                                                         Valid until:  31 Dec 2010