Members of Three Rivers District Council’s (TRDC) Sub Committee agreed on Tuesday, July 16, to support a Local Plan that will see fewer houses built in the area than required of them by the last Conservative government.
However, only a few days earlier, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves MP announced that the new Labour government would force local councils to meet compulsory housebuilding targets.
In 2023, former Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove removed mandatory housing targets, which paved the way for local councils to rewrite plans for new developments.
In Three Rivers, 90 per cent of residents voted in support of a lower growth Local Plan, which TRDC aims to adopt by February 2024.
Referencing his council’s decision to back a lower housing target, Leader of TRDC councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst said: “This decision is another step towards not only providing the right type of housing and affordable homes needed for residents and future generations, but also to protecting a large portion of our valuable green belt.”
It is unclear yet whether this Local Plan will be derailed if the new government reintroduces compulsory targets as part of its plans to build 1.5 million new homes within five years.
Photo Credit: Rachel Reeves
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