Housing Land Supply

An aerial view of new build homes on a new housing estate with the roof exposed.

In December 2024, Central Government revised the National Planning Policy Framework and updated Planning Practice Guidance for calculating housing requirements.

The main change is that instead of using future housing projections published in 2014, the current number of homes in an area is used. An uplift ratio based on the affordability of homes is then applied, using a 3-year average of affordability data instead of the latest annual figure. The following table shows the previous and current Local Housing Need (LHN) calculation:

Reorganised Authority Name	LHN under previous standard method	LHN under new standard method	Avg. Annual Net additions (2021/22-2023/24)
Somerset	2,669	3,769	2,761

For the 5 Year Housing Land Supply (YHLS) calculation, Central Government reintroduced a buffer to be added to the LHN figure to provide the annual Local Housing Requirement, a 5% uplift unless the delivery of housing has fallen below 85% of the LHN.

These changes combined result in a 46% increase in Somerset’s annual housing requirement, now 3,957 dwellings (3,769 + 5%). The increase varies from 18% to 167% across the individual former Local Planning Authority areas. The new local housing requirement figures has resulted in a reduction of the number of years of housing land supply.

Former LPA Area	Previous YHLS	Current YHLS Dec 2024
Area North (Sedgemoor)	6.28	5.4
Area East (Mendip)	3.67	2.21
Area South (South Somerset)	3.44	2.11
Area West (Taunton Deane)	6.06	3.1 (Jan 25)
Area West (West Somerset)	9.92	3.73