New Village at Murrell Green
Planning Context
The housing target in Hart District Council was set by the local plan adopted in 2020. However, as part of the Government's manifesto commitment to 'Kickstart Economic Growth' and to help address housing needs, national house building targets were updated in 2024. This included raising the defined ‘local housing need’ across many authorities, including Hart District Council. This now stands at 771 homes per year and is more than double that in the adopted Local Plan.
In order for the local plan to be considered 'up-to-date' it is necessary to review the plan after five years and ensure a sufficient rolling supply of homes for the next five-year period can be evidenced, assessed against their ‘local housing need’. The Council are currently unable to demonstrate such a supply of housing equivalent to a shortfall of over 2,300 homes or only around 40% of the supply that they require.
The Council are preparing a new local plan as a result. This is however only in very early stages and is not planned to be in place until 2029 at the earliest. This process has been delayed by Government changes to require that local plans progress under a 'new plan making system' due to now come into effect this summer. In addition, future local government reorganisation due to take place in 2028 further complicates how this may advance.
National planning policy provides flexibility in such circumstances to ensure a supply of housing may be recovered in the absence of an up-to-date local plan. This allows for sites not identified within the adopted local plan to be considered against tests set out by national planning policy, which balance the benefits of development against any impacts.
As a result, the Council must consider how homes can be delivered now, to ensure that sufficient homes can be provided, rather than awaiting the completion of a new local plan in the future. Other applications have been submitted in Hart District Council on this basis at the edges of Hook, Fleet, Yateley and Eversley Cross. Given the arrangement of settlements within Hart District Council there are a limited number of opportunities to deliver the scale of housing required of the Council.
We consider that our proposals offer an opportunity to deliver new homes alongside employment, education and open space in a well-connected location to help meet the identified need for homes in a sustainable manner.
Development Plan
The Local Plan includes policies relevant to the location, character, sustainability and appearance of development and the protection of the environment. Both the Hook and Winchfield Neighbourhood Plans emphasise the need for preserving the landscape, encouraging sustainable transport and the delivery of distinct and locally sourced design.
The relevant policies of the Local and Neighbourhood Plans have been considered in the formation of the draft proposals for Murrell Green. These will be the means by which Hart District Council assess any planning application, along with the National Planning Policy Framework that sets out the Government’s planning policies.