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Designing planning and housing data

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Planning consideration

Local housing need

Housing need is an unconstrained assessment of the minimum number of homes needed in an area using the Standard Method. Assessing housing need is the first step in the process of deciding how many homes need to be planned for.

Design stage
Backlog
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Synonyms
  • Housing numbers
  • Housing targets
Legislation
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Expected number of records
Unknown
Frequency of updates
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Technical specification
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Background information

Each planning consideration we work on passes through the stages of our design process, where we research and answer specific questions to help us collect more information.

Backlog

  • Who asked for 'Local housing need' data?

    Claire, planning policy SME

  • What is the driver for the request?

    National policy change

  • Which 2024 focus area does the request support?

    • Faster local plans

Screen

  • What is the 'Local housing need' consideration?

    Housing need is an unconstrained assessment of the minimum number of homes needed in an area. Assessing housing need is the first step in the process of deciding how many homes need to be planned for.

    To determine the minimum number of homes needed, strategic policies should be informed by a local housing need assessment, conducted using the standard method in national planning practice guidance.

    The standard method is a calculation informed by existing housing stock and affordability. Existing housing stock is a dataset provided by MHCLG using ONS census data

  • Is there legislation that defines 'Local housing need'?

  • Who, in law, is responsible for the planning consideration or makes decisions about 'Local housing need'?

  • Which organisations do we think should publish the data?

  • Is the Local housing need a trigger?

  • Is the Local housing need something to consult during plan making?

    Yes

    • Provide information about when Local housing need is used during plan making

      Housing need is an unconstrained assessment of the minimum number of homes needed in an area. Assessing housing need is the first step in the process of deciding how many homes need to be planned for.

      The housing requirement is the minimum number of homes that a plan seeks to provide during the plan period.

      To determine the minimum number of homes needed, strategic policies should be informed by a local housing need assessment, conducted using the standard method in national planning practice guidance. The standard method is a calculation informed by existing housing stock and affordability.

      Once local housing need has been assessed, as set out in this guidance, authorities should then make an assessment of the amount of new homes that can be provided in their area. This should be justified by evidence on land availability, constraints on development and any other relevant matters.

  • Is there any Local housing need data already available?

  • Do we think the data should come from a single source?

  • Will a data standard be required?

Research

  • Do we understand the lifecycle of a Local housing need?

  • Do we understand how the data is created/produced?

  • Where will or should the data be used?

  • Existing housing stock, 5 year housing land supply, housing and economic land supply, housing delivery test, housing numbers, local plans

  • Who are the statutory consultees for Local housing need?

  • Other than the statutory consultees who are the primary users of Local housing need? How do we expect them to use Local housing need?

    LPAs, developers, planning consultants

  • What are the planning needs for this data?

    Housing need is an unconstrained assessment of the minimum number of homes needed in an area. Assessing housing need is the first step in the process of deciding how many homes need to be planned for.

    The housing requirement is the minimum number of homes that a plan seeks to provide during the plan period.

    To determine the minimum number of homes needed, strategic policies should be informed by a local housing need assessment, conducted using the standard method in national planning practice guidance. The standard method is a calculation informed by existing housing stock and affordability.

    Once local housing need has been assessed, as set out in this guidance, authorities should then make an assessment of the amount of new homes that can be provided in their area. This should be justified by evidence on land availability, constraints on development and any other relevant matters.

  • Who are the types of users who might benefit from having access to Local housing need data?

    LPAs, developers, planning consultants

  • What are some potential uses of Local housing need data?

  • What's the value of adding Local housing need data to the platform?

  • From what we have learnt so far are there any risks to making Local housing need data available?

0 updates

Last updated: 2025-06-30 14:34:15