Waverley planning officers advise against Core Strategy withdrawal

The officers recommended in a report (5-page / 152KB PDF) to the Council that it should ask for a suspension of the Core Strategy examination in order to carry out additional work highlighted by the Inspector, including updating the its Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA).

The Inspector adjourned the examination of the Core Strategy last month because he was concerned that the Council had not met its duty to cooperate and that its SHMA was not up to date.

The inspector subsequently sent a letter to the Council confirming that, although he was satisfied that the duty to cooperate had been met, he would be unlikely to be able to find the plan sound on the basis of the housing needs assessment evidence the Council had used, including an out of date Strategic Housing Market Assessment from 2009.

The Inspector set out three options for the Council, including carrying on with the examination either without taking any action or whilst undertaking the additional work needed if the Council felt "that this could be accommodated without fundamentally altering the Plan's spatial strategy".

However, the Inspector said that the "most appropriate course of action" would be for the Council to withdraw the Core Strategy, carry out the additional work, consult on the new plan and then resubmit for examination.

The officers said in their report that they felt the second option should be followed as it would "retain momentum with the delivery of the Core Strategy". They added that, until a new SHMA had been completed, it would be "difficult to identify the extent of other work that may be needed so that the Council can consider the implications of delivering that level of housing in Waverley".

"Bearing in mind the work that has been already been undertaken, including extensive public consultation and the Council's commitment to put in place a Core Strategy which reflects the communities wishes, it is considered appropriate to follow the Inspector's option two," the report said.

The report will be considered at a meeting of the Council's Executive today and at a Council meeting on 16 July.