Councillors in Basingstoke will meet on Thursday (September 2) to begin deciding where the authority needs to put its required 900 homes a year.
The Basingstoke and Deane Local Plan, which currently covers the period to 2029, is being updated by the borough council to guide planning decisions until at least 2039.
The council’s economic, planning and housing committee will hold the first of a series of meetings on Thursday to discuss where the homes should go, starting with potential developments around Basingstoke itself. A shortlist of sites is up for debate.
Cabinet member for communities, planning and infrastructure Cllr Simon Bound said: “Making decisions about where future development should go is never easy. We need to consider, in a balanced way, how to meet the growing demand for new homes for current and future generations, while protecting and enhancing our wonderful green borough.
“We need to look at the suitability of greenfield sites around Basingstoke and also new settlements for future development.
“Maximising brownfield development through regeneration and intensification, and maintaining the vitality of our rural communities are guiding principles for the plan which will be discussed at later committee meetings, when the relevant evidence base is finalised, but greenfield allocations will also be needed to ensure the plan delivers the growth we need.
“Hearing councillors’ views is crucial at this stage of shortlisting possible sites, I look forward to listening to the debate at the committee to help to develop the right strategy for our borough.”
After sites in and around Basingstoke have been considered, future meetings will look at new homes in other towns, villages and rural areas and in Basingstoke town centre.
Proposals for housing sites are currently scheduled to go out to public consultation in the draft Local Plan update in Spring next year, alongside proposals for employment sites and other types of development and measures designed to protect the borough’s landscape and biodiversity.
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