Shropshire Council told planning inspectors' position on government demand to build more homes

The new Labour Government wants councils to provide an extra 1.5m homes over the course of the next parliament as part of a manifesto pledge to "get Britain building again".

The situation has left authorities across the country sweating on whether they will need to bolster their house building targets as part of their local plans – documents which set out what can be built and where.

Fortunately for Shropshire Council planning inspectors carrying out the much-delayed examination of the authority's local plan say that there is no need to change its targets.

It means the authority can stick with its proposal for 31,300 homes being built between 2016 and 2038 – along with the creation of 320 hectares of employment land.

Those targets have already been raised from 30,800 homes and 300 hectares of employment land as part of the council's own response to the examination of the plan – which decides if it is 'sound' and is signed off by inspectors.

It is crucial for authorities to have a local plan in place, to allow councils to control which sites are used for development.

In a letter to the council last week the planning inspectors reviewing Shropshire Council's Local Plan, Louise Crosby and Elaine Worthington, said the authority can proceed without increasing its targets.

They said that altering the proposals would further delay the plan, which has already faced major delays.

Writing to Shropshire Council they said: "To be clear, this plan has been in examination for a significant period of time, and we do not intend to require any additional work linked to a change in housing numbers as this would be likely to cause further significant delays.

"One of the Government’s goals is to ensure that as many local authorities have an up-to-date plan.

"Indeed, the written ministerial statement (WMS) says that where plans are already at examination they should be allowed to continue, although where there is a significant gap between the plan and the new local housing need figure that they will expect authorities to begin a plan immediately in the new system.

"So, based on the WMS it will be for a future plan to grapple with the potentially higher housing need."

While the statement means the current plan can proceed as proposed, it leaves the council in a situation where its next plan will likely be looking at an increase in the number of homes to be built.