A council struggling to meet rising housing targets says the focus should be on developers instead.

Sevenoaks District Council says instead of compelling local authorities to find more land, the new Labour government should be ensuring sites with existing planning permission are built.

The authority, which is in the process of preparing its next Local Plan, has seen its new homes target jump from 704 a year to 1,113 - an increase of 58%.

The district, 93% of which is classified as greenbelt land, was already struggling to find enough allocations for the original target and was meeting stiff opposition to a proposal to create a 2,500-home garden village at Pedham Place Golf Course to the south-east of Swanley.

One of the first actions of new housing minister Angela Rayner in July was to set out proposals to update the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the over-arching document all local councils must work within.

Under its new method for calculating housing need, some councils such as Ashford and Dartford saw their targets fall, but most saw a rise, with Sevenoaks experiencing one of the biggest increases.

Responding to the consultation, Sevenoaks council has said it “welcomes efforts to boost local housing supply to meet residents’ needs, including more social and affordable housing in future developments.”

However, it also raised a number of concerns.

The council argued the method for calculating the increased housing target was flawed, as it is based on the affordability of homes and average local incomes.

But it did not consider that many Sevenoaks residents work in London where wages are higher, so houses were more affordable than the figures might suggest.

Also, the use of existing housing stock as the basis for the calculation, rather than household projections as currently used, means the targets do not take account of future trends.

While supporting the use of ‘grey belt’ sites - poor quality and already developed greenbelt land - the council said these sites should only be developed in sustainable locations, near transport and local facilities.

It was also important that councils get to decide which sites are in the “grey belt” and not developers, it argued.

It reiterated its belief the greenbelt is important and highly valued, and should only be built on in very limited circumstances.

Sevenoaks council also raised concerns that there are no proposals in the revised NPPF to compel developers to build homes that have already been granted planning permission.

Cllr Julia Thornton, the council’s cabinet member for planning and conservation, said: “While we remain committed to protecting the overwhelming majority of our greenbelt, we will have a duty to do everything possible to meet the government’s new housing targets.

“We have highlighted what we believe to be serious issues with the government’s revised NPPF and the proposed major uplift in new homes.”

“Building 1,113 new homes every year until 2040 will be especially challenging given our district is 93% greenbelt, the second highest in the country, and also 60% National Landscape (previously Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty).”

One of the sites being promoted within the district’s emerging Local Plan, however, Pedham Place, is both in the greenbelt and a National Landscape.

Cllr Thonrton continued: “We have been urging the government for some time to give us the tools to encourage developers to build homes on sites with planning permission.

“In these instances, we have done our bit by granting planning permission in a timely manner, only for the developers to fail to get started.

“These tools could include charging council tax or business rates after a set period of time.

“We believe that building out these already granted schemes would make a big difference to the supply of new houses, both in our district and nationwide.”