The leaders of Wealden District Council have objected to proposed reforms to national planning policies.
In an open letter to the Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, Wealden District Council’s Green leader Rachel Millward and Lib Dem deputy leader James Partridge have called on the Labour government to rethink its approach to planning and housebuilding.
The letter was sent in response to proposed planning reforms, which the council said could lead to the district facing a mandatory building target of 1,397 homes a year – a figure well above the 953 set out in the council’s draft local plan.
In their letter, the councillors wrote: “There is no way that it’s possible to build at the rate your proposed targets require. Between 2012 and 2022, the average number of houses built here was 726 per year. At this moment, we have granted permissions to 8,400 homes which remain unbuilt, in many cases not even begun.
“The situation is made even worse as registered providers are no longer able to deliver section 106 allocations for affordable housing on planned developments due to soaring costs of building safety, Decent Homes, decarbonisation and increased regulation.
“The system needs a complete overhaul, and Local Authorities need powers to ensure fast delivery of housing after permission is given.”
The letter goes on to call on the government to give councils the “legal freedom and financial means to build social homes at scale”, as well as to “scrap” both Right to Buy and the use of viability assessments — a mechanism used to assess if a developer can afford to provide affordable housing as part of a development. These measures would result in more affordable housing, the council leaders argue.
The council leaders also call on the government to ensure its planning policies protect “areas of high biodiversity” — such as the High Weald National Landscape and Pevensey Levels — and balance house-building with environmental concerns.
The leaders’ letter has seen backlash from other members of the council, however.
In another open letter, a group of 18 Wealden councillors criticised the council leaders for issuing their statement without consulting with the council’s wider membership.
The 18 councillors — including Conservative group leader Ann Newton and Independent group leader David White — said: “The letter, which speaks to critical national planning reforms with potentially significant consequences for Wealden district, was neither shared with, nor discussed by, the majority of elected representatives.
“It is highly inappropriate that such a significant communication was sent on official council letterhead, implying the endorsement of the full council, when no such inclusive consultation took place.
“As representatives of our constituents, we believe that the governance principles of transparency, accountability, and inclusivity must be upheld at all times, particularly on matters of this scale. The decision to exclude other councillors from contributing to this letter flies in the face of these core principles.”
In a separate open letter, a Conservative councillor has also raised fears that the proposed reforms could endanger progress on the authority’s Local Plan and called on the council leader to provide clarity on what impact an increase in housing numbers could have.
Writing to Councillor Millward, Conservative councillor Michael Lunn said: “Despite the significant implications for our district, there has been silence from both the portfolio holder and yourself as leader.
“Numerous councillors have sought clarity on how these targets will impact the local plan, yet no updates have been provided to elected members.
“This failure to communicate is deeply troubling given the gravity of the situation and the widespread concerns of residents and councillors alike. “
