Object

Representation ID: 4851

Received: 10/08/2025

Respondent: Mrs Gillian Mulloy

Legally compliant? No

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? No

The NPPF requires that the standard method be the starting point for determining housing need, not the end point. Local Plans must then consider whether there are exceptional circumstances that justify a higher or lower figure, such as environmental constraints, infrastructure capacity, market absorption rates, and deliverability. Medway’s plan does not demonstrate that this exercise has been carried out.

2. Outdated or incomplete evidence base
The Strategic Housing Market Assessment underpinning this figure is not transparently published alongside updated demographic forecasts, post-2021 Census data, or realistic infrastructure capacity modelling. Without this, the figure’s legality and robustness are in question.