As Bracknell and Wokingham are both going through the local planning process, there is one rule which could let developers build more houses.

The rule is over whether an area has a ‘five year land supply’ or not.

The five year land supply is determined by whether enough sites are allocated for development to provide five years worth of housing in a local authority area, against the number of houses that Government requires a local authority to build.

If a local authority does not have a five year land supply, it can allow developers to submit applications for housebuilding on land that has not been allocated for development.

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The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which dictates planning rules, states if an local authority does not have a five year land supply, applications for houses should be approved, unless the negatives of a development significantly outweigh the positives.

The biggest fear is that developers can used the lack of a five year land supply in the planning appeal process to argue that their development is needed.

Bracknell Forest Council has a 4.2 year land supply.

This was raised during planning committee meetings in November and December last year.

Two developers, Nicholas King Homes and JPP Land Limited raised Bracknell Forest’s lack of a five year land supply as an argument to get their plans approved.

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The Nicholas King Homes home plan was to build seven homes to the rear of 89 Lock’s Ride in Winkfield Row.

Wesley McCarthy, speaking for the developer, said: “The council does not currently have a five year land supply.

“The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is very clear, that applications should be approved if this is the case, unless adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweight the benefits.”

Despite Mr McCarthy’s appeal, the plan was refused at a physical meeting of the committee on Thursday, December 2, 2021.

Meanwhile JPP Land had applied to build nine homes in Tilehurst Lane, Binfield.

A similar plan by the developer was refused on appeal, but its agent Douglas Bond argued that the appeal decision was made when Bracknell Forest had a five year land supply, which it no longer possesses.

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JPP Land’s plan has not been officially decided yet, but at an advisory planning meeting on November 11, 2021, only vice-chair of the committee councillor Michael Brossard (Conservative, Central Sandhurst) voted to approve it.

Wokingham Borough Council currently has a five year land supply.

The five year land supply is intimately connected to the local planning process.

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In order to demonstrate a five year land supply or more, enough sites in the local plan have to be allocated for housing development.

If not enough sites are allocated for housing development, it enables developers to launch speculative planning applications on unallocated land, which is often on countryside.

Councillor John Halsall the leader of Wokingham Borough Council recently raised fears that if Wokingham Local Plan update is not moved forward the borough will no longer have a five year land supply.

Cllr Halsall (Conservative, Wargrave, Remenham and Ruscombe) wrote: “The level of building has meant that our pot of sites with outstanding planning permission has of course diminished.

“This means that without recognition of past over delivery, our land supply position is now tight, opening the door to speculative, unplanned development despite already delivering what was required.”

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He wrote this in a letter to Michael Gove, the secretary of state for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, appealing for the Government’s housebuilding policy to be reformed.

Both Bracknell Forest and Wokingham Borough are currently going through local planning process.

The Bracknell Forest Local Plan was submitted last December, and Wokingham’s Local Plan update is undergoing a consultation which can be accessed here https://engage.wokingham.gov.uk/en-GB/projects/right-homes-right-places-local-plan.

It closes on January 24.