Housing targets are set to increase following today’s announcement from the government, but how will Medway fare?

Angela Rayner’s planning revolution will see sweeping changes made to housing policy and national housing targets are to rise.

The new deputy prime minister and secretary of state for housing, communities and local government outlined how the Labour government would meet their election pledge to build more homes today (July 30).

This included increasing national housing targets from 300,000 to 370,000 - a 23% increase - and making targets mandatory.

If replicated locally, the 23% increase would’ve meant housing targets for the Medway Towns would jump from 28,339 homes by 2040 to 35,000.

However, the draft update to the national planning policy framework (NPPF) released following the statement suggests Medway’s housing targets would actually be reduced by 14, from 1658 to 1644 houses to be built per year.

Angela Rayner announced an overhaul of the planning system which will see the national planning policy framework (NPPF) rewritten to favour development over local opposition and change rules to make building required infrastructure easier.

Speaking in the House of Commons earlier, she said: “Decisions about what to build should reflect local views, but that should be about how to deliver new homes, not whether to.

“The first port of call must be brownfield land, but it’s only part of the answer. Local authorities will have to review their greenbelt if needed to meet housing targets, but they’ll also need to prioritise low-quality, grey belt land - for which we are setting out a definition today.”

She added there would be changes to deciding where houses were needed, which would consider the price of houses compared to local incomes in its calculations.

The housing secretary also said the government would ensure every council had an up-to-date local plan and would intervene in failing authorities, with the new Labour administration aiming to build between 110,000 and 130,000 new affordable homes.

Medway is currently working on its local plan after its last version, implemented in 2003, expired in 2018.

In response to the announcement Medway’s portfolio holder for climate change and strategic regeneration, Cllr Simon Curry (Lab), said: “After 14 years of national failure from the Conservatives and over two decades of local failure from Medway’s Conservatives to deliver a Local Plan, the new Labour government is getting Britain building again - and Medway Council will play our part in delivering the homes that local people need.

“Here in Medway we are already moving at speed on a renewed push to put in place a Local Plan and will work closely with the government on any changes which may be needed to the process, in order to deliver sustainable development in our community.”

Three different proposals are under public consultation but higher targets will put greater pressure on the authority to delegate controversial areas, such as the Hoo Peninsula and Chatham Docks, for residential development.

In June, Cllr Curry called increases to existing housing targets “bizarre” after the authority failed to deliver enough new homes between 2019 and 2022.

He said: “Bizarrely they add on an extra 20% if you [miss their targets], which I don’t understand - it makes it more difficult when you’re already struggling.

“The delivery of housing isn’t just down to the council; we are responsible for the planning process, for assessing all the needs for housing and looking at infrastructure and making the decisions and then it’s down to the housing companies to deliver.”

Of its 28,339 target set under the previous government, in September last year, the authority said it had 7,583 homes already in the pipeline, and a predicted 3,000 windfall sites, but said it would be difficult to find sites for the remaining 19,173 houses.

The deputy prime minister is scheduled to give a briefing to local government leaders later today (July 30) which is expected to expand on the statement she gave to parliament.

Reacting to the announcement, chief executive of Chatham-based social landlord mhs homes, Ashley Hook, said: “The decision to increase housing targets is to be welcomed.

“The challenge will be converting these targets into new homes built.

“To do this, there needs to be increased government grant to help organisations such as mhs homes build more affordable homes.

“There also needs to be investment in construction skills and training to ensure we have a workforce in the UK that can meet this increased building programme.”