The Environment and Infrastructure Committee was scheduled to meet to discuss the updated proposed spatial strategy for the updated Local Plan, and to review its work programme. The report pack included a recommendation to consider and provide comments to Councillor Andy Konieczko, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Infrastructure, on the draft updated spatial strategy for the updated Local Plan (2024- 2042), including the proposed site allocations. The open proceedings of the meeting were scheduled to be webcast live via YouTube.

Here are the main topics that were listed for discussion:

Local Plan: Updated Proposed Spatial Strategy

The report pack included an update on the current position of the Local Plan. According to the report pack, the council aims to put in place an up-to-date and robust planning framework across the borough to guide future development and change. The council's current Local Plan was adopted in 2016.

Councillor Andy Konieczko, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Infrastructure, said in his foreword to the report pack that they had made significant progress in producing an updated Local Plan before the publication of new government guidance late last year. He added that this forced them to go back a few stages in the Plan-making process to consider how the much higher housing figures imposed on them by the government could be suitably delivered.

The report pack noted that the publication of a new [National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)]¹ in December 2024 had significant implications for the evolving Local Plan, most notably introducing a much higher housing need target for the borough. This required substantial additional work to be undertaken as the council did not benefit from transitional arrangements. The report pack stated that following a call for sites and the completion of further technical evidence base work, the report outlined a proposed draft spatial strategy to accommodate the higher level of growth.

The report pack stated that the introduction of a new standard method for establishing local housing need resulted in a significant increase in the borough's housing target, increasing from 850 dwellings per annum (dpa) to an initial figure of 1,127 dpa. It added that the standard method housing figure is updated twice a year as new data is published, and the figure currently stands at 1,152 dpa, and is predicted to continue to slowly increase.

The report pack noted that the council does not support the government's top-down approach to setting housing requirements and believes that the one-size-fits-all standard method formula fails to consider the unique characteristics of the borough, its history or future needs, the views of residents, or its specific and notable constraints.

The report pack stated that work has progressed in line with the new LDS and a call for sites was completed in January and February 2025, with details published in May 2025.

The report pack also included an Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA), including a Sustainability Appraisal (SA), Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA), Health Impact Assessment (HIA) and Equalities Impact Assessment (EqIA), which was being completed alongside the evolution of the Local Plan, by independent consultants.

The report pack stated that the consultation due to take place later in the year would be a second Regulation 18 consultation, with further statutory consultation (Regulation 19) taking place in 2026.

The report pack said that the draft Local Plan has, to date, been based on several key principles, including:

• Responding to the declared Climate Change and Ecological Emergencies.
• Maximising opportunities for development within built up areas and on previously developed land.
• Focusing growth at Basingstoke as the borough's most sustainable settlement.
• Supporting suitable growth in viable rural communities, but with an emphasis on protecting their rural character and identity.
• Considering opportunities for new settlement/s, particularly those following garden village principles.

The report pack included a table setting out the residual number of homes that need to be identified in the Local Plan to meet housing requirements for the borough. The table showed a need for approximately 20,400 new homes and a supply of around 10,000 homes leading to a residual requirement of 10,500 new homes.

The report pack also included a table setting out revised floorspace requirements for key employment uses at the 2024 base date. The table showed how the figures have changed since the previous Regulation 18 version of the LP, and also updates the figures to a base date of 2025, to take account of planning permissions over the last year which include, most notably, the planning permission at Oakdown Farm.

The report pack stated that initial conclusions from the LPA's updated Retail and Main Town Centre Uses Study indicate that there is no need to identify or allocate new sites for retail development, other than to provide floorspace to accommodate local needs on new large site allocations.

The report pack outlined the main components of the proposed updated spatial strategy to meet the additional needs identified, including:

• Basingstoke Town Centre: The Local Plan supports the implementation of the Masterplan for Basingstoke Town Centre (December 2022) aiming to deliver a vital and viable mixed use town centre, with an updated town centre policy including a delivery requirement of 500 new homes over the plan period.
• Basing View: The Local Plan will continue to protect and regenerate Basing View as a high-quality strategic employment site whilst recognising opportunities for some limited complementary mixed-use development, with an updated Basing View policy including a delivery requirement of 1,000 new homes over the plan period.
• Neighbourhood Renewal: An updated neighbourhood renewal policy includes an increased delivery requirement of 1,000 new homes over the plan period.

The report pack stated that despite an increase in the delivery of new homes on brownfield land, additional allocations are required to meet the requirements in tables 1 and 2. The proposed updated list of housing allocations was shown in a table with suggested yields, taking forward allocations from the last draft Regulation 18 LP (2024) and including seven new allocations.

The proposed new allocations included:

• Redlands (Phase 4) - 70 homes
• Upper Swallick - 1,200 homes
• Land west of Upper Cufaude Farm - 220 homes
• Oakley Farm, Wash Water - 500 homes
• Land at West End Farm, Mortimer - 350 homes
• Skates Lane, Tadley - 245 homes

The report pack stated that the most notable new allocation in terms of scale is a new settlement at Upper Swallick south of the M3 motorway.

The report pack also outlined proposed updated housing requirements for settlements across the borough, and stated that these requirements can be met through neighbourhood planning, or through planning applications if developments of a qualifying size come forward within or adjacent to those settlements.

The report pack stated that the site assessment process assesses the impact of the development of individual sites and also the cumulative impact of development on multiple sites within an area, including the consideration of a wide variety of matters including environmental impacts and infrastructure requirements. It added that further evidence base studies have been commissioned to consider a number of these issues in more depth, including a Water Cycle Study (WCS) and a Transport assessment (TA).

The report pack stated that the timely delivery of infrastructure to support growth is a key objective of the LP, and that it is currently anticipated that a draft Infrastructure Delivery Plan will be prepared for the Regulation 18 consultation to set out information about the infrastructure required to support proposed growth.

The report pack also stated that the Regulation 18 LP set out a strategy that was considered to be deliverable and would ensure a supply of housing sites that would be maintained on a rolling basis but through the adoption of a stepped approach.

Review of work programme

The committee was also scheduled to note and review its Work Programme and to receive updates from the Lead Members of Task and Finish Groups.