AROUND 800 new homes a year could be built in the Braintree district after it emerged the council may be forced to scrap its current proposals and treble the amount of housebuilding.
After nearly a decade of preparation, the authority's Site Allocation Plan, which is part of the Local Development Framework (LDF), could be set back a year while the figures are reassessed.
This blueprint for where housing should be built up until 2026 originally predicted 4,080 homes, but it could now be ditched.
A recent change in guidance in the Government's National Planning Policy Framework means the council will have to rethink its new homes projections and build up to 883 new homes a year, up from the current target of 272.
Graham Butland, leader of Braintree District Council, said: "Councils are now required to gather evidence on future housing need, rather than meeting a housing target that was set on an historic and regional basis.
"The Strategic Housing Market Assessment is just part of the jigsaw, but it is important that as a district council we look at the stark facts. The report indicates a need for between 761 and 883 new dwellings per year across the district – considerably higher than currently planned for."
Braintree District Council took the decision in April to reassess its plan before submitting it to the Government's Planning Inspectorate for approval, and a public consultation began in May that runs until June 20. In light of the change in Government policy, the authority is eager to avoid having its LDF dismissed completely by the planning inspector, potentially costing the authority £80,000 of taxpayer's money.
Green Party councillor James Abbott said: "If this is confirmed it will have developers queuing up, not just at sites where they have been turned down in the recent process but at much larger new greenfield sites – Braintree district does not have anywhere near enough brownfield sites to cover the gap.
"The district is now facing development rates that could be three times higher than originally required, and communities will have to go through several more years of the process they have just been through.
"This is not the fault of BDC at all, these changes are being imposed by Government policy."
Councillors will be asked to make a decision on whether to stop the process on the current LDF and produce a new revised plan at a meeting on June 12, before a full council meeting on June 30.
"This figure comes from estimated population growth of up to 23 per cent by 2035 – it is clear that more people are moving into the district from neighbouring areas than are leaving," added Cllr Butland.
"We are seeing a large number of people moving to the district, but commuting to the south of the county or into the city where house prices are much higher.
"At the other end of the market the report also looked at the issue of affordable housing and highlights a need for new one and two-bedroom properties.
"We expect to see 8,000 more households by 2021, but affordability is a concern, with the average price of a flat in the district at more than £100,000 and private rent over £500 per month.
"For many people even the cheapest local housing is priced out of reach."
The current plans include proposals for 600 new homes, a 6,000-seater football stadium and a 36-acre extension to an industrial estate in Panfield Lane, as well as building on land on the A131 near Great Notley.
