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More than 100 councils fall short as first ‘housing delivery test’ results revealed

The government has released its first ever ‘assessments of housing delivery’, with 108 councils falling short and 86 required to add more land for housing to local plans as a result.

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After months of delay, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government this afternoon revealed its assessment of housing delivery for England’s local authorities going back to 2015/16 against the actual number of homes delivered.

The government deems 95% delivery of assessed need as the pass rate, and 109 organisations missed this target, including the London Legacy Development Corporation.

The figures will be used to incentivise councils to drive up housing delivery, with a “presumption in favour of sustainable development” the ultimate sanction for poor performance. A total of 58 councils could face this penalty by 2020 unless their development increases.


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Councils that deliver between 85% and 95% of assessed need must develop an action plan, while those that deliver between 25% and 85% must identify 20% more land for development than originally required in the five-year supply included in local plans.

Based on the current figures (see table below), a total of 117 areas (which includes one development corporation) delivered less housing than was needed over the past three years.

Among these, 109 fell below the 95% pass mark, with 87 of these below 85% and facing the introduction of a 20% ‘buffer’. The remaining 22 must develop action plans to increase delivery.

The lowest percentage was recorded by the New Forest, which saw 755 homes built against an assessed need of 2,144 – 35% of its assessed need.

The government had originally promised to publish this data in November but missed its deadline. Inside Housing revealed this morning that it would be published this week.

No councils will face a presumption of sustainable development as a result of this first batch of assessments, which would only kick in this year if delivery fell below 25%.

However, under current plans this threshold will increase to 45% for the current year’s figures (due to be published in November) and to 75% from 2020. Based on the current figures, seven areas (Adur, Thanet, Barking and Dagenham, City of London, Redbridge, Calderdale, and New Forest) would be caught by this threshold this year.

A further 58 would be affected by 2020.

In total, 219 councils delivered at least 95% of homes they were assessed as needing, which means no further action is taken. Of these, 205 delivered 100% of the assessment or more.

The thresholds, which are calculated by dividing a needs assessment derived from household projections or up-to-date local plans by the actual number of homes delivered, has been criticised for underestimating need in areas of low household growth.

Local authorities have also warned that it is too simplistic, and builders have said it will underestimate housing need.

In total, the needs assessment delivered a target figure of 598,851 across England over the three-year period and total delivery of 679,738. This means its assessment is that some 80,000 more homes than necessary were built in this period.

The calculations assessed 28 areas as delivering more than 200% of the necessary housing over the period.

The biggest anomaly was Redditch, in Worcestershire, which was assessed as having delivered 2,048% of the required homes since 2015/16.

The calculations said the area only needed 37 new homes across the whole period – including -28 in 2017/18. Redditch saw 748 new homes built in this time.

Housing minister Kit Malthouse said: “These figures show that a majority of councils are rising to the challenge and delivering the homes their communities need.”

Redditch and New Forest councils were contacted for comment.

Housing delivery test results

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published the below information on 19 February 2019.

The table shows the percentage of housing delivered against government assessment of need between 2015/16 and 2017/18

Local authority areaHousing delivery test resultConsequence
Adur41%Buffer
Allerdale278%None
Amber Valley145%None
Arun91%Action plan
Ashfield116%None
Ashford110%None
Aylesbury Vale133%None
Babergh88%Action plan
Barking and Dagenham43%Buffer
Barnet82%Buffer
Barnsley103%None
Barrow-in-FurnessNANone
Basildon75%Buffer
Basingstoke and Deane76%Buffer
Bassetlaw141%None
Bath and North East Somerset267%None
Bedford129%None
Bexley89%Action plan
Birmingham108%None
Blaby254%None
Blackburn with Darwen72%Buffer
Blackpool100%None
Bolsover131%None
Bolton60%Buffer
Boston109%None
Bournemouth84%Buffer
Bracknell Forest75%Buffer
Bradford76%Buffer
Braintree93%Action plan
Breckland119%None
Brent98%None
Brentwood51%Buffer
Brighton and Hove77%Buffer
Bristol, City of99%None
Broadland; Norwich; South Norfolk133%None
Broadland; Norwich; South Norfolk133%None
Broadland; Norwich; South Norfolk133%None
Bromley110%None
Bromsgrove94%Action plan
Broxbourne67%Buffer
Broxtowe67%Buffer
Burnley388%None
Bury60%Buffer
Calderdale36%Buffer
Cambridge388%None
Camden106%None
Cannock Chase138%None
Canterbury117%None
Carlisle248%None
Castle Point48%Buffer
Central Bedfordshire110%None
Charnwood123%None
Chelmsford138%None
Cheltenham108%None
Cherwell233%None
Cheshire East183%None
Cheshire West and Chester365%None
Chesterfield66%Buffer
Chichester126%None
Chiltern132%None
Chorley133%None
Christchurch; East Dorset75%Buffer
Christchurch; East Dorset75%Buffer
City of London42%Buffer
Colchester120%None
Copeland242%None
Corby113%None
Cornwall133%None
Cotswold268%None
County Durham116%None
Coventry105%None
Craven146%None
Crawley181%None
Croydon151%None
Dacorum153%None
Darlington182%None
Dartford181%None
Daventry110%None
Derby113%None
Derbyshire Dales93%Action plan
Doncaster194%None
Dover131%None
Dudley101%None
Ealing108%None
East Cambridgeshire52%Buffer
East Devon149%None
East Hampshire104%None
East Hertfordshire76%Buffer
East Lindsey96%None
East Northamptonshire164%None
East Riding of Yorkshire114%None
East Staffordshire133%None
Eastbourne73%Buffer
Eastleigh115%None
Eden194%None
Elmbridge62%Buffer
Enfield85%Action plan
Epping Forest49%Buffer
Epsom and Ewell57%Buffer
Erewash66%Buffer
Exeter144%None
Fareham137%None
Fenland97%None
Folkestone and Hythe139%None
Forest Heath100%None
Forest of Dean100%None
Fylde172%None
Gateshead50%Buffer
Gedling51%Buffer
Gloucester143%None
Gosport111%None
Gravesham64%Buffer
Great Yarmouth67%Buffer
Greenwich108%None
Guildford75%Buffer
Hackney82%Buffer
Halton193%None
Hambleton230%None
Hammersmith and Fulham189%None
Harborough150%None
Haringey48%Buffer
Harlow84%Buffer
Harrogate113%None
Harrow175%None
Hart278%None
Hartlepool168%None
Hastings98%None
Havant147%None
Havering49%Buffer
Herefordshire, County of74%Buffer
Hertsmere158%None
High Peak118%None
Hillingdon182%None
Hinckley and Bosworth141%None
Horsham141%None
Hounslow78%Buffer
Huntingdonshire92%Action plan
Hyndburn137%None
Ipswich66%Buffer
Isle of Wight71%Buffer
Isles of ScillyNANone
Islington71%Buffer
Kensington and Chelsea137%None
Kettering129%None
King's Lynn and West Norfolk91%Action plan
Kingston upon Hull, City of165%None
Kingston upon Thames75%Buffer
Kirklees75%Buffer
Knowsley182%None
Lambeth125%None
Lancaster167%None
Leeds96%None
Leicester129%None
Lewes50%Buffer
Lewisham95%None
Lichfield102%None
Lincoln; North Kesteven; West Lindsey112%None
Lincoln; North Kesteven; West Lindsey112%None
Lincoln; North Kesteven; West Lindsey112%None
Liverpool193%None
London Legacy Development Corporation52%Buffer
Luton178%None
Maidstone112%None
Maldon101%None
Manchester97%None
Mansfield112%None
Medway47%Buffer
Melton84%Buffer
Mendip124%None
Merton144%None
Mid Devon135%None
Mid Suffolk81%Buffer
Mid Sussex110%None
Middlesbrough231%None
Milton Keynes85%Action plan
Mole Valley77%Buffer
New Forest35%Buffer
Newark and Sherwood118%None
Newcastle upon Tyne244%None
Newcastle-under-Lyme100%None
Newham71%Buffer
North Devon; Torridge128%None
North Devon; Torridge128%None
North Dorset82%Buffer
North East Derbyshire156%None
North East Lincolnshire115%None
North Hertfordshire55%Buffer
North Lincolnshire73%Buffer
North Norfolk126%None
North Somerset73%Buffer
North Tyneside120%None
North Warwickshire134%None
North West Leicestershire316%None
Northampton150%None
Northumberland197%None
Nottingham126%None
Nuneaton and Bedworth105%None
Oadby and Wigston177%None
Oldham64%Buffer
Oxford99%None
Pendle73%Buffer
Peterborough91%Action plan
Plymouth202%None
Poole68%Buffer
Portsmouth122%None
Preston252%None
Purbeck132%None
Reading165%None
Redbridge38%Buffer
Redcar and Cleveland292%None
Redditch2046%None
Reigate and Banstead119%None
Ribble Valley260%None
Richmond upon Thames141%None
Richmondshire410%None
Rochdale106%None
Rochford75%Buffer
Rossendale75%Buffer
Rother69%Buffer
Rotherham92%Action plan
Rugby108%None
Runnymede116%None
Rushcliffe119%None
Rushmoor123%None
Rutland228%None
Ryedale192%None
Salford135%None
Sandwell61%Buffer
Scarborough241%None
Sedgemoor102%None
Sefton64%Buffer
Selby154%None
Sevenoaks94%Action plan
Sheffield110%None
Shropshire171%None
Slough86%Action plan
Solihull109%None
South Bucks123%None
South Cambridgeshire78%Buffer
South Derbyshire114%None
South Gloucestershire131%None
South Hams191%None
South Holland71%Buffer
South Kesteven81%Buffer
South Lakeland180%None
South Northamptonshire119%None
South Oxfordshire179%None
South Ribble126%None
South Somerset104%None
South Staffordshire127%None
South Tyneside105%None
Southampton120%None
Southend-on-Sea49%Buffer
Southwark80%Buffer
Spelthorne63%Buffer
St Albans58%Buffer
St Edmundsbury106%None
St. Helens98%None
Stafford224%None
Staffordshire Moorlands64%Buffer
Stevenage100%None
Stockport75%Buffer
Stockton-on-Tees124%None
Stoke-on-Trent143%None
Stratford-on-Avon261%None
Stroud94%Action plan
Suffolk Coastal128%None
Sunderland186%None
Surrey Heath127%None
Sutton149%None
Swale74%Buffer
Swindon121%None
Tameside66%Buffer
Tamworth86%Action plan
Tandridge65%Buffer
Taunton Deane191%None
Teignbridge135%None
Telford and Wrekin250%None
Tendring78%Buffer
Test Valley265%None
Tewkesbury181%None
Thanet44%Buffer
Three Rivers67%Buffer
Thurrock88%Action plan
Tonbridge and Malling155%None
Torbay90%Action plan
Tower Hamlets100%None
Trafford47%Buffer
Tunbridge Wells88%Action plan
Uttlesford147%None
Vale of White Horse334%None
Wakefield184%None
Walsall99%None
Waltham Forest122%None
Wandsworth168%None
Warrington55%Buffer
Warwick132%None
Watford108%None
Waveney72%Buffer
Waverley79%Buffer
Wealden112%None
Wellingborough104%None
Welwyn Hatfield88%Action plan
West Berkshire117%None
West Devon69%Buffer
West Dorset; Weymouth & Portland129%None
West Dorset; Weymouth & Portland129%None
West Lancashire179%None
West Oxfordshire103%None
West Somerset130%None
Westminster116%None
Wigan83%Buffer
Wiltshire139%None
Winchester121%None
Windsor and Maidenhead97%None
Wirral73%Buffer
Woking153%None
Wokingham157%None
Wolverhampton111%None
Worcester; Malvern Hills; Wychavon187%None
Worcester; Malvern Hills; Wychavon187%None
Worcester; Malvern Hills; Wychavon187%None
Worthing93%Action plan
Wycombe107%None
Wyre146%None
Wyre Forest116%None
York102%None

 

This story was updated shortly after publication to correct some small errors. Initially, it was reported 109 councils had under-delivered. The number is in fact 108 and one development corporation. In addition, 33 councils face a presumption in favour of development from 2020, not 57 as originally reported.

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