BCP Council’s request for Dorset Council to take some of its housing has been described as a “brazen approach” which needs to be resisted.
Cllr Andrew Parry (Con), whose West Parley ward adjoins BCP, said the proposed land-grab, as he described it, was not welcome.
“What is needed is a very short, to the point, reply, leaving them in no doubt that they are not welcome to off-load the more difficult bits of their Local Plan onto us,” he said, “they should meet their demand and not push it over the border.”
Dorset Council is being asked under reciprocal arrangement to find space for new homes which neighbouring Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council says it has no space for.
The figure could run to thousands of homes over a 15 year period – although Dorset Council says it also has problems in meeting Government housing targets.
Planning portfolio holder, Wimborne councillor Shane Bartlett says the Dorset target could now shift, under new Government guidelines, from providing space for 1,790 homes each year to 3,230, before the BCP request is added in.
“It’s doubtful we could meet those numbers which is why we have declined to help BCP meet their housing need… there is a view among our officers that BCP have not exhausted all of their options to deliver their housing numbers, which is something they need to do,” said Cllr Bartlett.
“Part of the unreasonableness about this is that BCP want us to look at our own Green Belt land (to help them), but are not prepared to give up any of theirs which is part of the issue.”
Cllr Ryan Holloway (Wareham Lib Dem) said the housing targets were “unrealistic” and BCP would need to do more work to find the homes it needed.
Cabinet members were told that Dorset Council has what is known as a “Duty to Co-operate” when requests are made by neighbouring authorities, but this did not necessarily mean that it would have to meet the request, although it would have to demonstrate through its Local Plan process what the capacity might be to help, or otherwise.
BCP has claimed that over the 15-year Local Plan period it is likely to have a 16,770 shortfall in its 40,000 housing provision, based on current Government calculations, a figure which works out at 2,718 per year.
BCP Council’s draft local plan, currently being considered by the Government, sets a target of 1,200 homes a year from 2024/25 to 2028/29 and 1,800 homes per year until 2038/39.