Council told policies for affordable housing and Travellers are unsound - Yorkshire

From Inside Housing

Leeds Council has been warned its core planning strategy is ‘not sound’ because of its policies on affordable housing and Gypsy and Traveller sites.

A planning inspector said the policy on affordable housing was not sufficiently ‘certain, viable and deliverable’ because it failed to set ‘local standards for thresholds and targets.’

The council has sought to include its affordable housing targets in supplementary planning guidance rather than the local plan, although this move was also branded inconsistent with policy by the inspector.

The council was also told to carry out a needs assessment for Gypsy and Traveller sites and to amend its target of 41 pitches if necessary.

The current assessment, completed in 2008, was said to be out of date. Projections based on the council’s waiting list was also said to be potentially insufficient as many Travellers may not have signed up with the council.

The city’s core strategy, which sets out policies up until 2028, estimates the city will need 74,000 new dwellings over that period.

It is currently being scrutinized by planning inspectors.