Cabinet approves new guidance for planning applications on housing
Cabinet have just approved a new ‘Interim Housing Position Statement’.
What does this mean?
This document is all about how we address a shortage of new housing, so that we can proactively boost the amount of new housing we’re creating across Kirklees.
Why is this important?
To counteract the shortage of housing, one of our key priorities is providing new homes, with a big focus on affordable housing. However, our current supply of land suitable for housing would support less than five years’ worth of housing growth.
It’s the first time this figure has dropped below five years since we first adopted the Kirklees Local Plan in 2019, and is part of the reason a full update of the Local Plan was approved at our last Full Council meeting in November.
What happens next?
The new Interim Housing Position Statement is on of a number of measures we’re going to use to address the shortfall in housing, and help us achieve our goal of building 1,730 new homes every year between now and 2031. We’re still committed to delivering sustainable, high quality developments as part of meeting these requirements.
Councillor Graham Turner, Cabinet Member for Finance & Regeneration, says:
“We absolutely must honour our commitment to creating more quality housing for the people of Kirklees, and we are willing to take the necessary steps to do that.
“Local authorities up and down the country are struggling, and we’re facing a housing shortage not just in Kirklees but across the UK. Now that this document has been approved, it will help us meet our targets for housing growth whilst still maintaining high standards for developments, and will help shape the future of Kirklees.”