Object

Representation ID: 1858

Received: 13/12/2021

Respondent: IM Land

Agent: RPS Group

The local assessment of housing need should be revisited to account for 8,550 jobs growth provided for by WMI and the potential employment land oversupply of 254-273 hectares in the District.

Events have moved on since the Strategic Growth Study (SGS) was published in 2018, with the Black Country’s need increasing and supply diminishing over a different timescale to the SGS’s preparation. The Black Country’s unmet need has not been appropriately factored into the housing requirement or the strategic locations in the SGS.

The RSFA fails to take account of the close proximity to facilities in Cannock via walkable routes. If these facilities are taken into account Huntington would score ‘green’ rather than ‘amber’ on criteria B.1. Huntington has a disproportionately low amount of growth compared to other Tier 2 settlements with insufficient explanation given to justify this approach. As there will be no remaining safeguarded land in Huntington once Site 016 is released, further safeguarding land should be identified, in order to provide a continued and available release of land to meet future needs beyond the plan period.