The Council said in a statement that it had made the decision to withdraw following a new housing market assessment which indicated a housing need over the next 18 years which was double of what it had proposed in the Core Strategy.
The Inspector notified the Council in June that he would be unlikely to be able to find the plan sound on the basis of the housing needs assessment evidence used, including an out of date Strategic Housing Market Assessment from 2009. He recommended that withdrawal of the plan would be the "most appropriate course of action".
The Council's planning officers subsequently advised that the examination should be suspended whilst the housing market assessment was updated. Following the updated housing market assessment, the Council's executive recommended withdrawal of the plan to begin a process of review and amendment in order to look at accommodating the significantly higher level of housing need that has been identified.
The Council said it was determined to keep its commitment to residents to "carefully manage the scale of new housing despite the changing goalposts of national housing policy. "We will continue to lobby against policy that fails to recognise and protect the essence of what makes our borough a beautiful and prosperous place to live, whilst considering the new housing assessment and how we can to address it," the Council said.
"Waverley is far from unique in being in this position; many councils have withdrawn core strategies at various stages and for a variety of reasons," said Council leader Robert Knowles. "Withdrawing the Core Strategy does not mean Waverley has to go back to the start. Many of the policies are likely to remain relatively unaffected."
