A KEY weapon in Waverley Borough Council’s arsenal to battle unwelcome speculative housing developments, has just been published as part of the six-week public consultation into the draft Local Plan launched last Friday.

Waverley has now identified a five-year supply of current and suitable land for residential development, which it says will put it “in a much stronger position” when defending planning appeals.

But the council has already come under fire from objectors who say building 519 houses a year is still not enough and the shortfall could fail the Local Plan when it is submitted for examination by an independent planning inspector in November.

Under government policy, the lack of both a five-year housing land supply and an up-to-date Local Plan, means planning permissions can be granted almost anywhere at appeal in order to boost the national housing stock, unless it can be shown the adverse impacts outweigh the benefits.

In order to meet increased housing targets for the borough, Waverley’s draft blueprint provides for 519 new houses a year until 2032, which is more than double the number in its previous housing targets.

The council has calculated it now has a 5.3 year supply including a mixture of sites – some already have planning permission and others are preferred sites Waverley considers have the potential to obtain permission in the future. Commenting on the latest housing supply figure, planning portfoli holder Brian Adams said: “I welcome the update.

“Having a five-year housing supply puts the council in a much stronger position when defending planning appeals and allows the council to resist undesirable developments on the borough’s beautiful open spaces.

“The council is in a better position to prevent development in the borough’s countryside, which it deems inappropriate, and is committed to protecting our borough’s green assets.”

But Waverley’s assertion it could now see off undesirable developments at appeal has already come under fire from Waverley Friends of the Earth.

The environmenta group’s legal expert Kathy Smyth said: “I expect to see the council’s assertion that it has a five-year supply strongly disputed by developers with interests in potential sites. One of the factors which determines the target for the number of houses required in the next five years is the number of houses which have been completed since 2013.

“Waverley’s problem is since 2013 only an average of 250 houses per annum have been completed against a target of 519 and so there is a significant shortfall which has to be made up.

“Not only that, national planning policy says where there is significant and persistent shortfall the so-called buffer is not an additional five per cent but actually 20 per cent. If that is the final outcome that would mean the housing target is actually in excess of 800 houses per annum for the next five years. So Waverley may have a five-year supply if the figure is 519, but it certainly doesn’t if the figure is higher.

“We have already seen at least one housebuilder advance this argument at a recent planning inquiry and I expect to see many more make the same point in their response to this consultation.”

Construction giant Wates attacked the figures at an appeal into Waverley’s refusal to allow 157 new homes on a greenfield site in Farnham.

In his opening statement last Tuesday, Wates’ barrister Sasha White QC, said: “This is an authority who have a history of failure with at least seven years of consistent failure to meet their housing requirement.

“It is now contended they have a five-year supply of housing. That is not accepted. It relies on a quarterly assessment which has no support whatsoever in the National Planning Policy Guidance and has never been produced by this authority before.”

Mr White claimed Waverley’s contention was “flawed”, because the figure produced only amounted to a 4.6-year housing supply. He said the objectively assessed need was actually higher than previously accepted and also did not factor in extra housing to help Woking meet its own target.

• The Local Plan public consultation runs until Monday, October 3. Go to www.waverley.gov.uk.