New homes target for Bristol and North Somerset cut

Thousands of homes planned to be built in Bristol and North Somerset over the next 20 years have been scrapped, the National Housing Federation has said.

An independent report, commissioned by the organisation, shows Bristol City Council has axed 6,000 planned homes and North Somerset Council, 10,750.

It follows the government's decision to scrap regional house-building targets.

Under revised government plans, 30,000 homes will be built in Bristol and up to 16,000 in North Somerset.

North Somerset Council said it had campaigned against plans to build 25,000 homes in the district by 2026.

The government had said the houses needed to be built as part of plans to build 500,000 new homes across the South West.

Sustainable target

The council said some of these would have been on greenbelt land but that the number of homes built in the area was likely to be between 14,000 and 16,000 in the next 15 years.

A spokesman for Bristol City Council said: "The revised figure for the house building programme in Bristol of 30,000 new homes is the one the authority originally proposed and which it believes is sustainable."

The National Housing Federation represents England's housing associations.

David Orr, its chief executive, said the cut in planned homes was "disappointing".

He said: "Local authorities need to recognise that just because regional targets have gone, housing need has not.

"To prevent a slump in the number of desperately needed new homes, the government should replace the regional planning system with transitional arrangements as a matter of urgency."