Council still concerned over the Government's new house building targets for Burnley

The council's current Local Plan requires at least 194 additional homes annually. But Burnley would need to boost its house building by around 22% to meet the latest government targets of 340 new homes every year. It is part of a mission to create 1.5 million in England over five years.

The council says it’s currently overperforming, having added 278 properties per year on average since 2021, which is 62 less than the new target.

Coun. Lubna Khan, Executive Member for Economy and Growth, said: "Burnley Council has an ambitious Local Plan currently in place and is delivering in excess of its current targets, contributing to the Plan’s objective of meeting the full spectrum of housing needs of the borough over the plan period, and thus the needs of the wider country. We are also delivering a majority of its new housing on brownfield land.

"In response to the Government’s consultation on the proposed new ‘standard method’ last year, the council raised concerns about the precise methodology proposed, how the resulting figures would be applied, and the ability of Burnley to meet these figures if they are to be applied too rigidly.

"A slight adjustment to the final methodology has been made by the Government, but some of the concerns raised remain. How this new standard method figure is applied in a new local plan is a matter for future consideration, but only last month the borough passed the Government’s latest Housing Delivery Test with a performance of 603%."