Rutland Interim Housing Position Statement

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1 Background

1.1 Rutland County Council's current adopted planning policies are set out in the following documents:

• The Core Strategy DPD (2011) sets out strategic planning policies, housing, and employment requirements, and how development should be distributed between towns, villages and the countryside;
• The Site Allocations & Policies DPD (October 2014) allocates land for the development needs set out in the Core Strategy and sets detailed policies on a range of topics, used to inform decisions on planning applications;
• Minerals Core Strategy and Development Control Policies DPD (2010).

1.2 Other documents that form part of the Rutland Development Plan include 'made' Neighbourhood Plans (Barrowden & Wakerley, Cottesmore, Edith Weston, Greetham, Langham, Oakham & Barleythorpe and Uppingham) which contain locally specific policies for development within the designated Neighbourhood Plan areas. Neighbourhood Plans covering the parishes of Ketton & Tinwell, Market Overton, North Luffenham, Whissendine and Wing are also under preparation. In addition, the made plans for Edith Weston, Langham and Uppingham are currently under review.

1.3 In September 2021, the Council committed to producing a new Local Plan. This, when adopted, will replace the documents set out in paragraph 1.1 above. The new Local Plan will provide for housing needs in accordance with paragraph 11 of the NPPF and ensure that the Council will identify deliverable sites sufficient to provide a minimum of five years' worth of housing in accordance with paragraph 73 of the NPPF.

1.4 The Council's housing supply position is being kept under regular review. At the current time, the Council is not able to demonstrate a robust five-year supply of housing as required in national policy.

1.5 The NPPF sets out that this position may be different in parishes which have a made neighbourhood plan which allocates land for housing. In such cases, the Council will need to be able to demonstrate a three-year supply of housing, but this only applies if the neighbourhood plan was made within the past two years. At the time of preparing this Interim Position Statement no "made" neighbourhood plans in Rutland meet this requirement under the NPPF.

1.5 As a consequence, decisions on planning applications involving the provision of housing will be tilted in favour of sustainable development, in accordance with Paragraph 11 of the NPPF. This means that planning permission should be granted unless any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits, when assessed against the policies in the NPPF taken as a whole.