EHDC Five-Year Housing Land Supply Targets 2024-2029: (828 homes/year × 5 years) + 2,036 backlog

Annual Housing Requirement:


  • In December 2024, the Government set a mandatory housing target for EHDC at 1,142 homes per year.
  • However, legal advice suggested that, considering East Hampshire’s unique circumstances (e.g., a significant portion of the district lies within the South Downs National Park), a more appropriate figure might be 828 homes per year.​

The proposed adjusted figure represents a 27.5% reduction from the Government’s standard housing target

Five-Year Housing Land Supply (2024-2029):


  • Shortfall: As of April 1, 2024, EHDC reported a shortfall of 2,036 dwellings in its five-year housing land supply, equating to a supply of only 2.7 years instead of the required five years.
  • Delivery Period: This shortfall pertains to the five-year period from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2029.​

📅 Over 5 years, you’d calculate total required supply like this:

(828 homes/year × 5 years) + 2,036 backlog
= 4,140 + 2,036
= 6,176 homes needed from 2024 to 2029

So the total five-year requirement = ~6,176 dwellings

And if EHDC only has land supply for ~2.7 years of that total, the tilted balance is triggered.

Long-Term Housing Target (up to 2040):


  • The Government’s standard methodology calculated that EHDC needs to plan for nearly 11,000 new homes by 2040.


🩺 Understanding the EIA Consultees and Planning Application Consultees – Through a Health Check Analogy

Approving a major+ housing or commercial development isn’t just about ticking boxes — it’s like preparing a patient for surgery.

And just like in real healthcare, you don’t go straight to the operating theatre without tests. You start with a health check. You look for warning signs. You bring in the right specialists. You ask: Will this operation do more good than harm? And if there’s risk, you take action before it’s too late.

That’s exactly how Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) should work.

In this analogy:

  • 🏛️ EHDC is the GP, doing the initial assessment (screening)
  • 🏗️ The proposed development is the patient, ready for major intervention
  • 🩻 The EIA is the full diagnostic scan, to check for risks before cutting
  • 👨‍⚕️ The consultees are medical specialists, brought in when symptoms suggest specific risks

🧑‍⚕️ Who Does What? — The Planning “Specialists” as Medical Consultants

Planning TopicConsulteeMedical Analogy (Before Surgery Role)
🛣️ Strategic roadsNational Highways🦴 Orthopaedic surgeon — checks the spine can bear the strain of the operation
🚗 Local roads and accessLocal Highways Authority💪 Musculoskeletal specialist — ensures mobility works day-to-day after the procedure
🔥 Emergency accessFire & Rescue Services🧠 Reflex specialist — ensures responses to danger are instant and pathways are clear
👮 Crime prevention designDesigning Out Crime Officer🧬 Immunologist — prevents external threats from compromising recovery
🚽 Wastewater infrastructureSouthern/Thames Water💩 Gastroenterologist — ensures waste can be processed without harmful backup
🐾 Biodiversity / habitat lossEHDC Ecologist / Wildlife Trust🌬️ Respiratory specialist — makes sure the system can breathe and self-regulate
🛑 Flooding (rivers)Environment Agency (EA)💧 Vascular surgeon — manages the body’s rivers and prevents internal flooding
🌧️ Surface water / drainageLead Local Flood Authority (LLFA)🩺 Kidney specialist (nephrologist) — controls water retention and filtering
🧱 Heritage / archaeologyHistoric England🧠 Memory care specialist — preserves long-term memory and cultural identity
🎓 School capacityHCC Education🧒 Paediatric consultant — checks whether the body can support its growing parts
🏥 GP and NHS pressureNHS / ICB🏥 Capacity planner / hospital coordinator — ensures the care system won’t collapse

💪 What Happens After the Diagnosis?

Once EHDC has done the screening, it decides whether to refer the “patient” (development) to relevant specialists. Each one:

  • Runs tests (e.g. capacity modelling, heritage impact studies, ecological assessments)
  • Provides a diagnosis (risk level, mitigation needed)
  • Determines whether it’s safe to proceed with the “operation” (approval and construction)

If multiple risks are found, EHDC requires a full Environmental Impact Assessment — a detailed report of all impacts and treatments.


🏗️ The “Surgery” = Building the Development

Just like rushing into surgery without knowing a patient’s condition can cause serious harm, approving development without this process can:

  • Overload GPs, schools, roads, and sewers
  • Damage habitats or floodplains
  • Trigger irreversible effects on heritage or biodiversity

With the EIA in place:

  • ✅ Risks are known and mitigated
  • ✅ Vital infrastructure gets upgraded or supported
  • ✅ Monitoring is built into approval conditions
  • ✅ The community stays protected

🧠 Why This Analogy Matters

People often ask: “Why all these reports?”

Because we’re about to perform major surgery on a living system — the landscape, infrastructure, and services of East Hampshire.

And when it comes to your community’s health, resilience, and safety — the best outcomes always start with a thorough check-up.

2. Developer Compliance Framework

| Phase 3 |


ComponentDeveloper Compliance Framework
What It DeliversEnsures that only applicants who accept capped profits and build-out expectations receive planning approval.
FunctionMoves from reward-based preference (Phase 2) to a mandatory compliance threshold.
Legal BasisLocal Plan / SPD / Planning Conditions
Completion CriteriaIntegrated into formal policy and officer decision criteria.
How to ImplementRemove discretionary “preference” language and embed as condition or threshold.
Timeline3–6 months (SPD) or 18–36 months (Local Plan)
OwnerPolicy Team / Planning Committee / Legal

🧯 Preventing Developer-Controlled Cost Inflation (PROPOSAL)

Developers often control not just the land, but also construction supply chains and procurement standards. This concentration of control can allow them to artificially inflate costs and argue that profit caps make schemes “unviable.”

To counter this:

  • Require developers to benchmark costs against regional/national standards.

  • Demand explanations for inflated material, labour, or procurement costs — especially when alternative solutions are available.

  • Use independent viability reviewers to challenge developer-submitted figures.

  • Implement post-completion profit clawback mechanisms if actual profits exceed declared expectations.

  • This ensures the profit cap remains enforceable and not subverted by internal cost manipulation.

1. Local Plan Policy on Profit Caps

| Phase 3 |


ComponentLocal Plan Policy on Profit Caps
What It DeliversFormally integrates capped profit margins into EHDC1 planning policy.
FunctionMakes capped profit a binding planning condition.
Legal BasisLocal Plan
Completion CriteriaPolicy adopted in new Local Plan. Includes anti-inflation safeguards to prevent cost distortion by developers.
How to ImplementDraft, consult, examine, and adopt as part of Local Plan update.
Timeline18–36 months
OwnerPlanning Policy Team / Cabinet / Inspectorate
  1. EHDC – East Hampshire District Council ↩︎

Profit Cap Mechanism – PCM

🟡 Phase 2: Local Policy Innovation and Pilots

⏱️ Total Rollout Duration (Trial-to-SPD Adoption):
✅ Immediate launch via Cabinet pilot: 1–2 months
📋 SPD formalisation: 6–9 months

1. Pilot SPD on Profit Transparency and Fair Return
2. Tiered Developer Contributions Based on Profit Levels
3. “High-Impact Site” Classification Criteria
4. Affordable Housing Delivery Escalator
5. Early Viability Disclosure for Tilted Balance Sites
6. Public Access to All Viability Data in Registry

🔵 Phase 3: Enforceable Profit Caps and National Policy Reform

1. Local Plan Policy on Profit Caps
2. Developer Preference Framework
3. Enforceable Profit Cap in Planning Conditions or S106
4. National Reform Campaign
5. Relative Impact Threshold Policy