The Housing Delivery Test (HDT) was introduced by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) in 2018 to ensure that local authorities and other stakeholders are held accountable for their role in ensuring new homes are delivered.
The HDT assesses the number of homes built in local authority areas over the previous three years and compares these against local housing requirements. The HDT 2018 results were published by MHCLG on 19 February 2019. The council scored 76%, with an under-delivery of approximately 600 dwellings over the last three years.
Local Planning Authorities that fail to meet delivery targets are required to take appropriate action to address under delivery. As a consequence of the HDT result, the council is required to prepare a housing action plan and to add a 20% buffer to the five year housing land supply calculation.
Basingstoke and Deane Housing Delivery Test Action Plan
The council has worked proactively with relevant stakeholders to produce a Housing Delivery Test Action Plan (HDTAP). The purpose of the plan is to identify key issues for the under delivery of new housing in the borough and outline what actions will be taken to increase and maintain delivery levels.
The plan outlines a number of actions to increase housing delivery and ensure that this is maintained over the longer term. Actions include:
- working proactively with partners to ensure the delivery of key strategic sites to ensure they are delivered in line with predictions
- facilitating the delivery of a variety of suitable development sites including land within public ownership
- taking a pro-active and focused approach in the development management process, building on current successes
The council’s HDTAP covers the period 2019/20 and can be downloaded below.
