DORSET continues to fall short on housing targets – with hundreds of sites not being built on despite having planning consent or the ok in local plans.

For many councillors the highest concern is the relative lack of progress on affordable housing, which is already impacting on recruiting lower paid workers.

Deputy council leader Peter Wharf said that unless affordable homes can be found for care workers, close to where they work, it would, inevitably worsen the crisis in recruiting in the sector, which is already seeing 20 per cent of the workforce moving to other jobs, each year.

A Dorset Council report, published this week, says that the reasons for the shortfall on housing targets is complex and often beyond the ability of the council to have much influence.

Housing targets in the county are still based on the previous council areas which all set their targets at different times.

The new homes targets vary from 120 homes a year in Purbeck to 775 a year in West Dorset, Weymouth and Portland.

Since the targets were set new Government methods of calculating housing need have been applied which has pushed the Purbeck figure to 186 a year and West Dorset, Weymouth and Portland to 811 a year. Many critics object to the so-called ‘standard methodology’ of calculation saying it fails to respect local need or a deliver a suitable mix of housing.

Purbeck achieved 131 new homes in 2020-21 while West Dorset, Weymouth and Portland reached 671 in the same year -  like other areas, both below target.

The council report says that across Dorset there are currently 13,007 homes on sites that have either been allocated in local plans or have planning permission, with 2,130 of these under construction in April 2021.

Report authors say there are complex reasons for not reaching targets including the overall availability of suitable land; the complexities of delivering on large sites which can often take several years; the viability of each scheme for developers which links in to the characteristics of the site and the costs of overcoming problems; the conflict between demand in ‘desirable’ areas, such as on the coast and in attractive villages, which may not be the best place to build.

There is also the practice of gaining planning consent for a site, which increases the land price, and then selling it on, or simply waiting until it becomes more profitable.

Covid has also had its impact, according to the report, with many sites put on hold only to then be affected by a shortage of building materials and suitably qualified labour and tradespeople.

 

So what can the council do?

Councillors will be told that the authority might be able to help improve the rate of new builds by streamlining the process of dealing with planning applications, something it has been criticised for in recent months, often failing to meet targets.

Also suggested is getting a new Local Plan in place which sets out which areas are suitable for housing – although this has already being delayed.

The council report also suggests that it could do more to proactively work with developers to overcome barriers and to ensure that strategic issues are eased by a fresh approach to mitigation measures. Obstacles in this area include the flood risk in Weymouth town centre and the need to protect heathland, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Sites of Special Scientific Interest and other protected environments.

A relatively new obstacle is the requirement for nutrient neutrality on sites where water sources run into Poole Harbour which Dorset Council has taken seriously and cited the policy in a number of recent housing refusals, although, according to some developers, the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council is paying less attention to the policy.

Councillors will be told that ensuring a range of different sized sites are available may help the market, which could include selling some council-owned sites for housing. In some areas this has already happened, most recently on the former North Dorset District Council headquarters site in Blandford which is now under construction with new homes.

Indirectly it is suggested that the authority could consider trying to attract new developers to the county, working closely with housing associations and promoting new methods of home construction, including offsite manufacture which is usually faster than conventionally built homes.