Abolition of Regional Housing Targets

Regional housing targets will no longer exist when regional spatial strategies are abolished. However, the Planning Inspectorate has stated that until they are actually abolished, regional spatial strategies remain applicable and local planning authorities are still required to demonstrate a five-year supply of housing land.

The Government believes that its policy will boost the supply of new homes and provide a welcome alternative to Labour's previous system of regional housing targets. But there are fears that the shift in responsibility to the local level will result in a severe shortage of new homes because historically, local projections of the number of homes required have been significantly lower.

The content...