MONMOUTHSHIRE County Council (MCC) is in the process of updating its local development plan (LDP) early to address a number of issues including the lack affordable houses being built.
This comes as data accompanying the latest annual report (2017) into the LDP showed the average Monmouthshire house price has risen from £188,720 in 2012 to £231,857 in the first quarter of 2017 (22.8 per cent increase).
The LDP sets out the council’s vision and objectives for the development and use of land in Monmouthshire, and forms the basis for decisions in the determination of planning applications and appeals.
MCC was due to commence a full review of the LDP in 2018 but after a poor annual report in 2016 an early review was suggested to address the shortfall in the housing land supply.
The 2017 annual report formed the first stage of the review process and highlighted further problems the council has had reaching its targets.
Fewer than half of the recommended dwellings and affordable houses have been completed since LDP was adopted in February 2014 and for the second year in a row the housing land supply fell short.
Much of the problem stems from the county being unable to deliver its strategic housing sites with all but two yet to be approved.
Speaking at cabinet councillor Bob Greenland said: “Quite clearly we are not building the number of houses that we had anticipated in the plan. So it was felt that now was the time to launch our full review.”
Cabinet approved a LDP draft review report last month which has enabled the next stage, stakeholder consolation, to commence.
The consultation will take responses from interested parties such as the public, landowners, developers and more.
They will be fed into the final review report which will help to determine if and how the LDP should be revised going forwards.
The consultation period for the draft review report will run until Monday 5th February 2018, for a response form or for more information visit www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/planning-policy/current-consultations