High Eastbourne housing targets ‘absurd’

In an open letter to local government secretary Robert Jenrick, Conservative councillor for Meads ward Robert Smart has criticised Eastbourne’s housing targets, arguing they are based on outdated projections from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

More recent ONS projections, Cllr Smart argues, would significantly reduce the town targets, requiring fewer houses to be built and prevent developments being approved at appeal.

Cllr Smart said: “Under the current regulations the local housing need has been calculated as 668 homes per year over the next 10 years, using 2014-based household growth projections from the ONS. 

“I reported to you that this is an absurd projection and that no ‘bottom up’ analysis would support this.

“The result is that all involved in the planning system slavishly (but not surprisingly) conclude that Eastbourne has a huge but unattainable housing target.”

Cllr Smart goes on to claim that more recent population growth projections (from 2018) would only require the town to build 161 new houses a year, rather than the 668 currently expected. 

The 2014 projections have been used to set housing targets for 406 unitary authorities and districts.

This figure, however, does not take into account the affordability calculations the government uses when setting housing targets. With this included Cllr Smart estimates the target for Eastbourne would be 204 houses per year instead, although it is unclear whether the government would come to the same figure.

Cllr Smart argues this means Eastbourne does not have “a housing shortfall” and calls on Mr Jenrick to give the matter “urgent attention”.

However, his letter also criticises the use of population growth projections in the setting of housing targets at all, describing them as an “unreliable methodology”.

He says the projections also fail to take account of Brexit and recent changes in immigration policy, which he claims could reduce population growth.

Despite this, Cllr Smart argues the current targets have resulted in “draconian decisions” being taken by the planning system.

He wrote: “Applications for housing development rejected by the council (sometimes against officers’ advice, fearing the award of costs against the council) have resulted in successful appeals. 

“Recently the inspector referred in his decision to the ‘council’s shortfall in housing supply’ as ‘an important consideration to which I have given great weight in informing my conclusion on this issue.’

“Physically constrained Eastbourne can almost certainly manage to provide 161 new housing units annually over the next 10 years, but that compares to the ridiculous current requirement for 668 on which the planning system continues to base its draconian decisions.

“The Planning Inspectorate punishes Eastbourne on the basis of having considerably less than five-years land supply when on these new projections Eastbourne can demonstrate such a supply.”

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