Local Conservatives pledged at the election to reduce the over-inflated housing figures that were passed by Labour in their Borough Plan in 2019.
We are following the legal process to review the Borough Plan, and the hard work that has gone on in the background has now revealed that our housing requirements are substantially below those set by Labour.
When the plan was passed by Labour in 2019, the figures put forward had an annual housing target of 703 new houses per year. The updated figures show that our actual need is 545 per year, which will balance our realistic need for housing and for pushing economic growth within our Borough.
Cllr Richard Smith, Cabinet Member for Planning, welcomed the latest figures:
We believe the figure we are proposing for housing growth reduces the rush to new homes we have seen in recent years under the current Borough Plan, and is much more realistic to deliver the right number of homes in the right places with no further loss of precious green belt land.
On the other hand, it balances that pressure with the need for continued growth that we must see if we are to achieve the levelling up that our Borough needs, and it supports our ambitious plans for regeneration in both Nuneaton and Bedworth town centres.
I am satisfied that the evidence presented here will be crucial to ensure that we protect key sites in the Borough but continue to bring forward appropriate opportunities for development that we need to ensure a vibrant and competitive local economy.
Importantly, it also identifies that around 80 hectares of land are needed for economic development to supply the jobs our area needs.
We are working hard to make Nuneaton and Bedworth a great place to live, work and visit, and the analysis contained here will form part of a robust Borough Plan to go to the government’s Planning Inspector next year.