RBC urges Government to not increase housing target in Rushcliffe
Last updated: 27/9/2024
Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC) has passed a motion urging the Government to not increase housing targets in Rushcliffe, citing its extra pressure on its countryside and greenbelt land.
At Thursday’s (September 26) Full Council meeting, RBC’s Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Planning and Housing Cllr Roger Upton highlighted the disappointment he felt at the national decision to increase Rushcliffe’s housing quota.
He referenced the significant number of homes that have been built in the Borough in recent years in line with the adoption of a Local Plan in 2014 and complemented by the Greater Nottingham Strategic Plan discussed earlier in the meeting.
The current consultation stage of new housing targets has outlined nearly 4,000 further new homes need to be built in the Borough until 2041, rising from 609 annually to 831.
By comparison the same consultation indicates the Nottingham City local authority area, with a higher number of brown or newly defined grey belt sites, has been given a lower target reducing annually from 1,845 homes to 1,451.
Cllr Upton said: “It’s with great disappointment our target has increased despite having built more than our fair share of houses in the Borough.
“We know that residents are understandably very protective of our green spaces and having already seen first hand the large volumes of housing built in their communities in the last 10 years.
“We understand there is housing shortage nationally but we have already stepped up to the plate. Here in Rushcliffe developers have already built some of the highest levels of new homes of anywhere in the region in recent years.
“We are now writing to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Angela Rayner to request the target is not increased.
“We are also urging Nottingham City Council, under the Duty to Co-operate to allocate our proposed increase in housing numbers, just as we did for them in 2014.”
Cllr Upton cited the significance of the latest version of the draft Greater Nottingham Strategic Plan being agreed as part of the Council’s commitment to play its role in the housing crisis.
He added: “This plan is an important milestone in our statutory duty and is a major decision which will affect this and future generations of Rushcliffe residents.
“We have been preparing this new plan for several years, in partnership with Broxtowe Borough, Gedling Borough and Nottingham City Councils through the Joint Partnership Board.
“This is a major piece of work, that covers the period up to 2041, and it sets out strategic policies and proposals to secure sustainable development growth, including housing, employment and infrastructure, across the Greater Nottingham plan area.
“It means at present there is a draft plan for over 14,000 new homes and we think this is more than sufficient growth in a Borough that has already significantly grown in the last decade.”