A further 700 properties will be built per year in County Durham to address housing needs, writes Local Democracy Reporter, Bill Edgar.
Durham County Council is set to create a new planning framework after the local figure increased to 2,011 per year.
It comes after a review of the local authority’s County Durham Plan, which sets out the long-term vision and planning framework for future developments.
At a meeting on Wednesday (October 15), the council’s cabinet members will hear that the review considered national changes to how local housing need is calculated, which lead to the local figure increase.
Councillor Joe Quinn, cabinet member for planning, investments and assets, said: “We are pleased to have conducted a very thorough review of the County Durham Plan in line with national advice to do so every five years.
“This has shown some really positive results, such as a good track record of delivering new housing, similar progress delivering employment sites, and a strong and improved performance at planning appeals.
“Overall, we feel the existing County Durham Plan is in a good place, largely in line with national policy, and that it will continue to be effective in delivering its visions and aims.
“However, we are mindful of changes to national policy, including how local housing need is calculated and, therefore, we feel it is right to seek to continue work on an updated County Durham Plan.”
Planning policies in local plans must be reviewed once every five years to assess whether they need updating.
In addition to local housing needs, the review also looked at:
- Housing delivery test performance, with the council’s result of 150 per cent exceeding the national target of 95 per cent. This is a calculation of the number of net homes delivered against the number of properties required, over a rolling three-year period.
- Five-year housing land supply performance, with the council area currently having 6.14 years of deliverable housing land supply.
- Appeals performance, with 84.4 per cent of appeals dismissed in 2024/25 – an increase from 74.1 in 2023/24.
- Housing allocations within the current plan, including 43 sites, with three in Durham City complete, delivering 86 homes. Other completed sites include 75 homes in Bishop Auckland. Work is ongoing to build 1,918 homes at Sniperley Park, near Durham City, with work also ongoing for 470 homes at Sherburn Road in Durham.
- Employment land allocations, with outline permission in place for 38,468 square metres at key strategic employment sites in Durham City, including Aykley Heads. So far, 2,985 sqm has been progressed with the development of office accommodation for the local authority at Corten House and a data centre recently granted approval on Plot D of the masterplan for the site for Durham University.
Bill Edgar
Reporter for the Local Democracy Reporter Service.
South West Durham News covering news across County Durham.
