Update - Swainson House Farm
4th of March, 2025
Residents may be aware that a developer took advantage of the temporary dip in the 5-year housing supply, by submitting an application for 95 homes at Swainson House Farm to the rear of Goosnargh Lane.
Details of the application can be viewed by typing the reference number – 06/2025/0182 into the City Council Website.
Goosnargh Parish Council resolved to object to the proposal, however it was presented to the 29th April Planning Committee with a recommendation to approve it, due to the absence of a 5 year supply.
The application was deferred for a site visit.
The 5 year housing supply was restored at the beginning of June and the application is due back before Planning Committee on the 3rd July.
The July Committee Report indicates the application is recommended for refusal.
INFORMATION ON THE 5 YEAR HOUSING SUPPLY
Why has the application been submitted when a similar application was refused by the City Council and by a Planning Inspector at an appeal.
In summary, it is because the City Council doesn't currently have a 5 year supply of housing land - so applications are assessed against National Policy rather than Local Policy
The current Government has pledged to build 1.5 million new homes during its Parliament – a commitment that the Deputy Prime Minister Angela Raynor stated “there are no excuses not to achieve”.
Consequently, in Dec 2024, the Government updated the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to include revised Standard Methodology figures, used for calculating housing land supply.
Preston’s housing land supply increased from 269 homes pa to 590 homes pa.
This means Preston must have a housing land supply of 3,098 homes with planning permission and evidence that they will be built within 5yrs. (590 homes x 5 years + a 5% buffer = 3,098)
The evidence comes from Preston’s annual Housing Land Position Statement. The last one was produced in April 2024 - Housing Land Position April 2024.
It illustrates that at April 2024, the Council had a 5-year supply of 2,515 homes - a shortfall of 583 homes based on the increased figures. This equates to a housing land supply of 4.26 years instead of 5 years.
What happens if the Council doesn’t have a 5 year supply?
If a Council cannot demonstrate a 5-year supply, applications are determined against paragraph 11 of the NPPF which sets out a presumption in favour of sustainable development.
In summary, it states applications should be approved without delay and a ‘tilted balance’ is applied where by Local Plan Policies are considered to be out of date.
The City Council was in this situation in 2018 – and when the ‘tilted balance’ was applied - the Council concluded that the housing applications in Whittingham should be approved.
This conclusion carries significant weight when determining any current applications submitted whilst the City Council does not have a 5 year supply.
However, of equal significance, is that before the approval notices were issued, the previous Government altered the way Housing Supply was calculated and the 5-year supply was restored.
This meant the tilted balance didn’t apply - and the applications were refused.
Will the 5 year supply be reinstated again and how long will it take?
The City Council has stated it is confident that a 5-year supply will be reinstated when the next Housing Land Position Statement is released in April 2025.
IF the 5 year supply is restored, applications determined after April 2025 should be assessed against the Local Plan Policies and based on the previous refusal notice – it is likely that the new submission should also be refused.
Will the application be determined before April 2025
The next available Planning Committee date is the 29th April – but the Officer will need time to assess any consultation comments and write the reports.
Consequently, the application is more likely to go to Committee in May or June – by which time, the update on the Housing Land Supply Position should be available.
Objection - points to consider