The term “interim housing land supply position statement” is not defined in national planning legislation, but is commonly used by local planning authorities like EHDC (East Hampshire District Council) to refer to:
A temporary or informal summary of the council’s current land supply status, prepared in the absence of an up-to-date Local Plan or formal Housing Land Supply Statement.
When is an Interim Statement Used?
An interim position statement may be published when:
- The Local Plan is out of date.
- A full Housing Land Supply Statement has not yet been completed or published for the current monitoring year.
- The council is awaiting confirmation of housing delivery numbers (e.g. completions, permissions).
- There is uncertainty due to appeals or legal challenges that affect the 5-Year Housing Land Supply.
It is a way for the council to indicate its estimated position, e.g. stating that it believes it has 3.2 years’ worth of deliverable housing land, pending final verification.
Status of Interim Statements
- Not binding — unlike a formally published 5-Year Housing Land Supply Statement.
- Subject to change — as new data or appeal decisions are incorporated.
- May be used by officers to inform development management decisions, especially for tilted balance cases.
Relevance to Tilted Balance
If the council publishes an interim statement indicating it cannot demonstrate a full 5-year supply, this can trigger Paragraph 11(d) of the NPPF, meaning the tilted balance applies:
Planning permission should be granted unless the adverse impacts would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits.
In such cases, the council must still apply planning judgment and local policies — but with less control due to the shortfall.