Kent councils grapple with increased housing targets under new Government

KentOnline / KMTV

Under previous targets, the county was expected to build more than 12,000 homes a year, but this is set to rise to almost 14 thousand with areas like Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge and Malling and Dover all being expected to build more.

Transcript

00:00The reasons behind changes to Kent's local housing targets are rather complicated.

00:06The government are updating the National Policy Planning Framework which calculates how housing

00:13is distributed across the UK.

00:17It will be taking into account things like affordability, low quality greenbelts to be

00:21built upon now and the removal of the urban uplift for the denser urban areas that store

00:27more housing in those towns and cities.

00:30And that has a huge impact here in Kent, because where I'm stood right now in Rochester, we'll

00:34now see less houses being built.

00:37But just up the River Medway, just behind me in Tunbridge and Morley Borough Council,

00:42they're going to have to build way more houses.

00:45And what that means is that those greenbelt spaces may not be as safe as they once were.

00:52And I spoke to the leader of Tunbridge and Morley Borough Council and he told me he feels

00:55it's all politically motivated.

00:58If this was about housing delivery, then surely all council areas should be expected to contribute.

01:06The reality is Tunbridge and Morley has got many more constraints and protections on our

01:11land than other authorities, including Medway, yet we're being asked to take more and they're

01:17being asked to take fewer.

01:19The changes have meant Tunbridge and Morley Borough Council have put pause to their local

01:24plan.

01:25But the Chatham and Ellsworth MP, whose constituency straddles both Tunbridge and Medway, says

01:31Labour aren't the ones playing politics.

01:35London has an 80,000 target for housing.

01:39Medway, which is a largely urban area with rural hinterland, has a target of 1,700 new

01:45homes per year.

01:46Tunbridge and Morley, a rural area, arguably 1,000 homes per year.

01:50So this is not being targeted on rural communities.

01:53This is about affordability.

01:55It is about where there is a demand.

01:57It is also about where new homes are needed and where communities are feeling that their

02:01young people cannot get on the housing ladder.

02:03A government spokesperson says all areas of the country must play their part in building

02:08the homes we need and taking into account affordability pressures so that more homes

02:13will be built in the least affordable areas.

02:16With the national planning policy framework now in the consultation phase, councils will

02:22have until September 24th to have their say.

02:27But with Labour insistent on following through on their manifesto promise, more housing in

02:33Kent seems as inevitable as it is controversial.

02:37Oliver Leeds, for KMTV, in Medway.

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