Gravesham leader John Burden says the council must show it can "retain its own planning destiny" after claiming to be in a worse position after a government u-turn on housebuilding reforms.

Labour-run Gravesham council is currently consulting on its local plan which outlines the need to build an additional 10,480 new homes across Gravesend and surrounding villages between now and 2036.

The government has used a computer-based formula to calculate the number of new homes that individual local authorities should plan for since 2017.

In August, it consulted on changes to the current planning system as it lags behind its current housebuilding target of 300,000 homes a year by the mid 2020s.

But it faced a backlash from local councillors in the South East – including Gravesham Conservatives who urged a rethink to avoid "irreversible damage" to Gravesham's green belt where more than 100 sites were considered by the council for potential development although many were quickly disregarded.

This criticism prompted the government to ditch what had been dubbed its “mutant algorithm” and instead the Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick announced a change in approach last week.

“We have listened carefully to the feedback on our proposals, within the consultation and outside of this, including in parliament, through discussions with stakeholders and in the media, have heard concerns that the distribution of need was not right,” the government set out in its response.

“In particular, we heard that too much strain was being put on our rural areas and not enough focus was on the renewal of our towns and cities.”

But the government‘s decision not to press ahead with a new method of calculating the number of homes to be built each year was met with disappointment by Labour-run Gravesham council.

Leader of the council Cllr John Burden said it had actually left Gravesham in a worse position than if it had gone ahead.

Responding to the news, he said: “We are currently consulting on our emerging Local Plan which includes a target of 655 new homes a year in the borough.

"That figure is based on the Government‘s standard method of calculation, and a number of respondents to our consultation have asked if we are changing it as a result of the government‘s decision.

“Unfortunately the answer to that is no, we cannot change it.

“Had the government gone ahead with its review of that calculation, that figure would have fallen to 405 new homes a year, a figure we would have been happier to adopt in our own emerging Local Plan as it is lower.

"However, the government has stepped back from that change and as a result our required new homes per year figure remains at 655, which is disappointing to say the least.”

Cllr Burden added the decision not to change the calculation method has had an even greater impact on London councils, whose proximity to Gravesham could have implications for the borough.

He said: “The existing standard method of calculation has been modified to increase the new homes targets for the 20 largest cities and towns in the country by 35%. In London, the target is rising from 69,318 homes a year to 93,679."

And he's warned if urban areas cannot shoulder the level of housebuilding needed this could have a knock on effect for Gravesham.

“If London boroughs cannot absorb the level of building needed to achieve that target, then we together with other South East councils could well be obliged under planning regulations known as duty to cooperate to consider giving up land within our own borough to help meet those London targets," he added.

"It‘s imperative that we reach a position where we can show we have identified sites sufficient to meet our Government-set housing targets if we are to retain control of our own planning destiny.”

“That‘s the reality of the situation informing our Local Plan review. It‘s imperative that we reach a position where we can show we have identified sites sufficient to meet our Government-set housing targets if we are to retain control of our own planning destiny.”

Councils face penalties for missed house-building targets and if they consistently fall behind their right to rule on planning applications can be exchanged over to planning inspectors.

Labour-run Gravesham council is currently running a consultation on the Emerging Local Plan Core Strategy.

But the proposals have faced opposition from countryside campaigners who objected to the site locations amid fears villages could be swallowed up by plans.

Earlier this month councillors clashed over the authority's housing strategy as Conservative colleagues challenged the plan, branding it "shambolic" and "defeatist".

Cllr Jordan Meade, leader of opposition, said: “Instead of showing leadership and challenging the government’s use of the 2014 population projections, the defeatist Labour administration have been all too happy to sit back and facilitate the building of 10,480 new homes across Gravesham.

"This could mean up to 25,000 more people cramming their way into our borough, with no thought given to how these numbers might impact our schools, hospitals and lack of infrastructure locally."

They were among the South East councillors who wrote a letter to the Housing Secretary calling for the government to "step in and recalculate their numbers before irreversible damage is done to Gravesham".

But Gravesham leader Cllr John Burden hit back at the criticism and pointed out the consultation was in response to the demands of a Conservative government.

"It's ridiculous," he said. "To be frank, this whole consultation came with a requirement from the government that we had to engage in a green belt review."

Last week the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said its revised method would focus on "levelling up" the country and would promote the "regeneration and renewal of urban areas" in the wake of the pandemic.

The computer-based formula used to decide where houses should be located has been "updated" to focus more on cities and urban areas in the North and Midlands.

A move it says will give high streets a new lease of life, removing eyesores and transforming unused and derelict buildings, while protecting green spaces.

But individual local authorities responding to the government's consultation claim they are not appropriate for all.

The government said in its consultation report the standard method did not present a "target" but instead "a starting point for determining the level of need for the area".

It went on to add it is only after consideration of this, alongside what constraints areas face, such as the Green Belt, and the land that is actually available for development, that the decision on how many homes should be planned for is made.

"It is for local authorities to determine precisely how many homes to plan for and where those homes most appropriately located. In doing this they should take into account their local circumstances and constraints.

"In order to make this policy position as clear as possible, we will explore how we can make changes through future revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework, including whether a renaming of the policy could provide additional clarity."

The current consultation on Gravesham council’s Local Plan closes at 5pm on Thursday 31 December. Click here to have your say.

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