Following a recent appeal in Marnhull, Inspector Bore has provided some helpful analysis on housing land supply in Dorset and the weight to be attached to the spatial strategy and related housing policies of the adopted Local Plan.
The Proposed Development sought to deliver a local centre and housing on two linked sites. The Council has an Annual Position Statement (which expires on 31st October 2025) and initially sought to rely upon §232 of the NPPF which affords limited protection for local plans that are less than five years from adoption. However, the Council, in the week immediately preceding the inquiry, signed a statement of common ground explaining that it was changing its position and no longer sought to rely upon §232 of the updated NPPF. The adopted plan was more than five years old.
Notwithstanding the initial differences between the parties on the §232 issue, the Inspector made the following determinations (emphasis added):
“6. …although the general principle of concentrating the largest amounts of growth in the main towns remains valid, the Local Plan’s policies for the delivery of housing, including its spatial strategy and the amounts of development to be allocated to different locations, now carries little weight.”
“21. There is a very serious level of housing need, including affordable housing need, in Dorset. To the extent that the scheme would be larger than that required to meet housing needs local to Marnhull and its rural environs, it would conflict with the spatial strategy contained in Policies 2, and 6 of the adopted Local Plan. However, those policies carry little weight for the reasons given above. It is acknowledged by the Council that the larger villages such as Marnhull will need to take additional housing development to meet identified needs. The scheme would provide much needed new homes and would accord with Local Plan Policy 8 in respect of the provision of affordable housing.
“48: “…there is no up to date spatial strategy that responds to [the very high housing need]…no up to date policy that establishes the amount of development to be apportioned to different locations…and no prospect that a new plan will be adopted until 2027”
He then went on to say that:
“53. It must be stressed that this decision has been reached on the basis of a level balance of planning considerations and the straightforward merits of the proposal. It does not rely on there being a so-called tilted balance arising from the 5 year housing land supply position under paragraphs 11 and 232 of the National Planning Policy Framework. The Local Plan is self-evidently not designed to address currently identified housing need. The serious picture of overall housing need, the absence of a relevant and up to date strategy for housing provision and distribution to deal with that need, and the housing supply position the Council will be in very shortly when the annual position statement on housing land supply expires, are material considerations of the highest importance.”
The Appellant had argued that the ‘tilted’ balance was engaged although the appeal was justified even on the ‘flat’ balance. The Inspector considered that there was such a need for housing that he allowed the appeal on the ‘flat’ balance. Consequently, there was no need for the Inspector to undertake any ‘tilted’ balance assessment. This is an important decision for those promoting sites in Dorset.
The Appellant, Mr P Crocker was represented by Paul Cairnes KC and Sioned Davies.
The full decision can be found here