Housing targets in Hastings draft Local Plan are too high

CPRE Sussex has responded to the Regulation 18 consultation on the Hastings Local Plan.

The town is tightly constrained by the sea and protected landscapes, meaning new development must make efficient use of land and buildings.

Given the many constraints faced by the district, it is entirely appropriate therefore that the local plan proposes a lower housing target than that suggested by the Standard Method of setting a new housing target. However, we do not believe that even this proposed lower target is acceptable or deliverable, given the constraints – and worthy strategic aspirations of the plan (around landscape, nature, climate, water, community infrastructure).

In Hastings, affordable housing is essential since local house prices and rents are much higher than local incomes. However, the percentage of affordable housing required (Table 2) is rather disappointing.

Many of the proposed site allocations do not meet the requirements recognised elsewhere in the plan, and stand in contradiction to the plan’s own policies. As such, the level of housing growth as proposed in this draft is likely to make many of these challenges even worse – while failing to address the housing affordability crisis.

Given the Plan’s welcome stated strategic priorities, there are a number of proposed site allocations that we cannot support, and which we believe must be withdrawn. We recognise that this may make the position even more challenging in relation to the government’s requirements and a potential plan examination, but we do not believe that these sites meet the requirements for genuinely sustainable development, as required both by the National Planning Policy Framework, or by the Plan’s own policies.

Read: CPRE Sussex Hastings Reg 18 consultation response 07.4.26