In order to try to maintain the delivery of new homes, national policy in England requires local authorities to have a supply of deliverable sites. Authorities should identify and update annually a supply of specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide a minimum of five years’ worth of housing against their housing requirement, in other words, a five-year housing land supply. 

Where a Local Plan was adopted in the last five years, or where strategic housing policies have been reviewed and found to be up to date, housing requirement figures set out in adopted policies should be used for the calculation. In other circumstances, the five-year housing land supply will be measured against the area’s local housing need calculated using the standard method.

To demonstrate five years’ worth of deliverable housing sites, robust, up-to-date evidence needs to be available. Authorities should use the latest evidence such as a Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment or an Authority Monitoring Report, or confirm the requisite supply using a recently adopted Local Plan or through a subsequent Annual Position Statement (which in 2022 only two Authorities decided to do).

Crucially, sites must be deliverable. Annex 2 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) defines what a deliverable site is which includes minor sites identified for development, or major sites which have full or detailed planning permission. However, the Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) importantly expands on this definition and states that some sites would require further evidence to be considered deliverable, namely those which have outline planning permission for major development, are allocated in a development plan, have a grant of permission in principle or are identified on a brownfield register.

Such evidence required to demonstrate deliverability may include the current planning status, such as a planning performance agreement (PPA) and associated timetable, or firm progress being made towards a detailed consent.

The need for additional sites

The supply of deliverable sites should include a buffer, as set out in the NPPF. This should be 5 per cent to ensure choice and competition in the market for land; 10 per cent where an authority seeks to confirm supply through a recently adopted Local Plan or subsequent annual position statement; or 20 per cent where there has been significant under delivery of housing over the previous three years (based on the Housing Delivery Test result).

Monitoring progress

To maintain the supply of housing, authorities should monitor progress. Where the Housing Delivery Test indicates that there is significant under delivery, where it has fallen over the previous three years to below 95 per cent of the authority’s housing requirement, the authority will need to prepare an action plan to assess the causes and identify how to increase future delivery.

What happens when a supply can’t be demonstrated?

When an authority cannot demonstrate a five-year supply of housing land all of its policies for delivering housing are deemed out of date. The NPPF states that planning applications should instead be decided based on the presumption in favour of sustainable development and the tilted balance may apply.

Further information

Contact Eleanor King or Jonathan Dixon

Savills Planning