Adur misses housebuilding target but fares better than neighbours

The planning authority delivered 77 per cent of its housebuilding target, according to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Figures come from the Housing Delivery Test, or HDT, which show how local authorities are performing against housing targets.

In the three years to March 2021, ADC delivered 353 homes but its target was 457. This is compared to 249 homes, or 48 per cent, delivered in the three years to March 2020.

To make up for the shortfall, ADC will need to look again at its local plan and identify 20 per cent more land for development in order to avoid under delivering in future.

However, ADC has narrowly avoided losing some control over planning decisions.

If the authority had delivered less than 75 per cent of its target, it would have had to consider all planning applications for approval – unless they were deemed unsustainable or delivered more harm than benefits to the local area.

This is known as the ‘tilted balance’ and is a part of national planning policy.

The council is slightly ahead of 50 other English local authorities which delivered less than 75 per cent of their housing requirement during the same period.

The leader of the council has been contacted for comment.

How does this compare to other areas?

The council performed better than its neighbours Arun District Council and Worthing Borough Council, which delivered 65 per cent and 35 per cent of their targets respectively.

Results for the rest of Sussex show how other local authorities fared:

Brighton & Hove City Council – 136 per cent

Chichester District Council – 136 per cent

Crawley Borough Council – 406 per cent

Eastbourne Borough Council – 32 per cent

Hastings Borough Council – 42 per cent

Horsham District Council – 147 per cent

Lewes District Council – 116 per cent

Mid Sussex District Council – 124 per cent

Rother District Council – 157 per cent

Wealden District Council – 82 per cent

What is the Housing Delivery Test and how are house building targets decided?

The Housing Delivery Test or HDT is carried out annually and measures housebuilding progress made by each local planning authority.

This is then compared to government house building targets for each area which take into account local housing need and whether or not the council has an up-to-date local plan.

Results for the 2020-2021 financial year were calculated slightly differently due to the impact of the pandemic on house building. 

In the three years to March 2021, three quarters of all local authorities met 95 per cent of their targets – delivering a total of 578,000 homes.