Warrington could be set for a significant increase in its housing targets. The Local Plan – which aims to deliver the homes, jobs, supporting infrastructure and community facilities the town needs – was adopted as the new development plan for the borough in December 2023.
It aims to deliver a minimum of 14,688 new homes between 2021-22 and 2038-39, equating to 816 per year. However, this could increase to 1,064 homes each year.
A report on the key changes that have been made to the Government’s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), and the potential implications of these changes for Warrington, will come before the council’s cabinet at its meeting on Monday.
It says: “The NPPF provides transitional arrangements for councils such as Warrington with a recently adopted Local Plan.
“Most significant is that the current Local Plan’s housing requirement will not be considered out of date for a period of five years from the date of its adoption.
“This provides the council with time to consider and plan for the NPPF’s new requirements.”
It highlights that Warrington’s housing need figure under the ‘new standard method’ is 1,064 homes per annum – which is an increase to the annual average housing requirement of 816 homes per annum in the current Local Plan.
It also says the council has written to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to ‘confirm its commitment’ to update Warrington’s Local Plan to respond to the new NPPF with the aim of having a new plan in place by December 2028, ‘at which point the current Local Plan will be 5 years old’.
The council says it will be an update to its existing plan but it is ‘likely to be in a new format’, based on what it believes will be in the forthcoming Government regulations.
A council spokesman said: “Councils are required by national policy to keep their Local Plans under review and ensure they have an up-to-date plan in place.
“The recent updates to the NPPF, along with new regulations that are expected later this year, will have implications for Local Plans nationally.
“The council has and will continue to review the implications of this with the aim of having a new plan in place by December 2028, at which point the current Local Plan will be five years old.
“Based on current national policy, an update to the plan will be required by this date to ensure Warrington is in the best position to sustainably plan for the increased housing requirement, in particular to ensure supporting transport and social infrastructure can be delivered in a timely manner.
“The Government is introducing a new system for preparing Local Plans under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023.
“The regulations for the new Local Plan system have not yet been published by the Government, but the proposed system will retain the requirement for extensive public consultation and independent examination.
“The adopted Local Plan identifies the council’s housing requirement for the plan period, a new Local Plan would need to respond to the Government’s revised figures of 1,064, published in December 2024.
“The starting point for the updated Plan will be the housing need figure derived from the Government’s standard method. This currently results in a figure of 1,064 homes per annum.
“The housing need figure will however need to be tested through the Local Plan process before it is confirmed as the plan’s housing requirement. An updated plan will also need to cover a period of 15 years from the date of its adoption. The period for an updated plan will therefore extend beyond 2038-39.”
The council has been asked if green belt land in Warrington will need to be used for the extra housing required, as part of the Local Plan, after 2028.
The spokesman said: “In updating its Local Plan, the council will need to undertake a thorough assessment of the capacity of the existing urban area, together with all other potential non-green belt sites before giving any consideration to green belt sites. This assessment will be undertaken as part of the process of updating the Local Plan.
“As stated in the cabinet report, it is critical that the council is able to work with the Government, public sector and private sector partners to bring forward complex brownfield sites and deliver the infrastructure required to support a higher housing requirement.”
