Surrey housing targets 'challenging', councils say

There are concerns about the impact on the green belt if the new homes are built

Councils in Surrey have said it would be "challenging" to achieve the government's targets for more homes.

Local authorities across the county would have to build nearly 11,000 homes per year, under the new housing targets.

The government has made increasing housebuilding a key priority, promising 1.5m new homes in England over the next five years.

Councillor Liz Townsend, Waverley Borough Council portfolio holder for planning and economic development, told BBC Radio Surrey: "We have got hard constraints that are, rightly, imposed on us to protect the landscape, by government. So it does seem quite perverse that we get a target...doubled overnight."

The targets are an increase from the figure set by the previous government, which BBC analysis shows was a total of 6,346 per year for the 11 district and borough councils in the county.

Councillor Rich Michalowski, executive member for place, planning and regulatory services at Reigate & Banstead Borough Council, said the council had been working hard to deliver the local plan housing target, but the new targets would be "extremely challenging".

"These changes alone would have severe implications for Reigate and Banstead's green belt and the character of our towns and villages," he said.

'Stretching and challenging'

Guildford Borough Councillor Fiona White, lead councillor for planning, said the changes to the method for calculating housing had led to a "significant increase" in the number of new homes needed in the borough.

"It will be incredibly challenging to accommodate this revised mandatory level of growth," she said.

"We face several constraints in Guildford, and stronger infrastructure will be needed to support this increase in development."

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook said: "We appreciate it will be stretching and challenging for lots of local areas.

"For those who want to work with us and share our ambition, we want to provide support [and there] was £46 million in the budget to help planning departments for councils that need that support.

"But to those handful of councils that say we're not going to work with you, we are willing to use the full ministerial intervention powers at our disposal to get those plans in place and ensure those targets are met."