The Labour Government has defended their ambition for more than 18,000 homes to be built in the Cotswolds saying they’ve “inherited the worst housing crisis in living memory”.
Their ambition is to build 1.5 million homes across the country during the current parliament.
But the revised housing targets have been severely criticised in Gloucestershire with Cotswold District Council’s (CDC) Liberal Democrat leader Mike Evemy (LD, Siddington and Cerney Rural) labelling them as “moronic”.
The council is expected to find suitable locations to build 18,600 homes by 2041 – something civic chiefs want ministers to reconsider.
Councillor Evemy has written to new housing secretary Steve Reed and invited him to visit the Cotswolds to see the challenges first-hand.
It follows an earlier appeal made in July to Angela Rayner, his predecessor, in which Cllr Evemy highlighted the exceptional constraints facing the district and called for a rethink on targets.
The council set out development options to meet the Government’s housing targets, which have more than doubled in the Cotswold district, to 1,036 new homes per year and a public consultation on these options is due to start next week.
“The response to our first letter from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said that every authority needs to play its part in delivering new homes, housing targets had been set based on affordability in each area, and that the council was doing the right thing in updating its Local Plan,” Cllr Evemy said.
“Like the algorithm the Government has used to calculate housing targets, that response failed to address the critical point around genuine development constraints.
“The Cotswold district is among the most challenged local planning authorities in the country when it comes to identifying appropriate and sustainable sites for large-scale development, particularly outside of those areas with National Park Authority designations. Up to now, this fact has been ignored by the government.”
Conservative politicians share the concerns over the latest housing targets and believe they would destroy the Cotswolds for future generations to come.
The council started work on a new development strategy and site allocations plan in 2024.
At that time, the Conservative Government decided that they needed to deliver 493 additional homes per year to deliver the required housing target.
North Cotswolds MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton Brown said: “Under the Conservative Government there was a sensible plan to build new houses in the 17 principal settlements in the Cotswolds in places where existing infrastructure could be improved.”
And Cllr Tom Stowe (C, Campden-Vale), who leads the Tory opposition in Cirencester, said the Government should review the evidence and accept they have got it wrong.
“These are deeply concerning times for residents of the Cotswolds. We accept that there is a need for additional houses but like much of the Government’s policies, this is ill thought out, poorly executed and with little regard for the Cotswolds.
“Both our MP and the Leader of CDC have written to the Secretary of State highlighting the unique challenges the CDC faces, these concerns have been rejected by the Government and CDC have been told to press on and start to work out where this housing can possibly go!”
The new plan suggests housing will built in non-principal settlements such as Willersey with 180 houses plus there is the potential for new villages at places such as Driffield with 840 houses and strategic sites such as Moreton-in-Marsh with 1710 new homes.
Cllr Stowe, with the full support of his MP, said ‘The CDC Conservative Group has reached out to the Liberal Democrat Administration to put politics to one side and work together to demonstrate that the new housing target is totally unachievable and needs to be significantly reduced.’
“Now is the time for Government to listen, to review the evidence, accept it has got it wrong and open discussions with the Cotswold District to revise the housing figure to a more sensible and sustainable number.”
The Government says they have always been clear about their ambitious housing targets.
They expect councils to explore all options to deliver the homes their communities need – maximising brownfield land, working with neighbouring authorities, and, where necessary, reviewing Green Belt which is a policy which restricts urban growth.
Councils will be expected to evidence and justify their approach through local plan consultation and examination.
A Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “We inherited the worst housing crisis in living memory.
“That’s why all areas including the Cotswolds must play their part to build 1.5 million homes and restore the dream of homeownership.
“Our revised housing targets will ensure more homes are built in the right places alongside the necessary infrastructure – and not at the expense of the environment.”
