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East Midlands council expects lower housing target under planning shake-up
Nottingham City Council is expecting a new, lower housing target of 5,804 homes by 2028 under the government’s ‘standard method’ shake-up.
The East Midlands council, which declared itself effectively bankrupt in November 2023, said that it had been set a new 2024 annual housing need figure of 1,451 additional homes.
This equates to 5,804 homes from 2024-25 to 2027-28.
In its latest four-year housing strategy, the council noted that the population of Nottingham is projected to increase by 56,000 people by 2041, with the strongest growth being in the 65-and-over age band.
Under the previous Conservative government, Nottingham had been subjected to a 35% uplift in its housing target as a large urban area, leaving it with a target of 32,868 homes by 2041.
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However, under Labour the city’s housing target has been cut to 26,118 new homes by 2041. The new government’s method uses an area’s housing stock as its base for housing targets, rather than household projections.
Linda Woodings, executive member for finance, said in October that the council had managed to identify room for 26,690 homes. “We see the targets as a minimum, not a maximum,” she added.
Nottingham is working with three other councils – Broxtowe, Gedling and Rushcliffe – on a ‘Greater Nottingham strategic plan’ to make sure they can deliver enough new homes over the next 15 years.
It is also working with the new combined county authority covering Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Derby City and Nottingham City and will “make sure Nottingham benefits from the devolution of housing-related powers and funding from central government that are set out in the East Midlands devolution deal”.
The strategy also said that the need for homelessness support in Nottingham has grown in the past five years, with households requesting support up 40% and families placed in temporary accommodation up 231%.
Since the council declared itself bankrupt last year, the government appointed commissioners to the council who are “expected to be here for the next two years”, the strategy said.
“Our financial constraints will have consequences in terms of the resources available to tackle some of the challenges identified in this strategy, but we remain committed to delivering on our ambition within the context of our financial affordability,” it added.
In 2023 the city council brought the management of council homes back in-house. From 2005, council homes had been managed by Nottingham City Homes (NCH), a wholly owned subsidiary of the council.
Since the return to in-house management, NCH has retained “a small number of properties”, which deliver some services for the council including temporary accommodation.
Jay Hayes, portfolio holder for housing and planning at Nottingham City Council, said: “We recognise there are challenges ahead and are determined to meet them head-on.”
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