The Housing Delivery Test (HDT) was introduced by government through the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in order to monitor whether a local planning authority is building enough homes to meet its housing requirement over a three-year period.
The HDT measures the number of new homes built over the previous three years against the authority’s housing requirement. Local planning authorities are required to take appropriate actions where certain delivery target thresholds, as set out in the NPPF, are not met. These include the following:
- Where housing delivery falls below 95% of local authority’s housing requirement, local planning authorities should prepare a ‘Housing Action Plan’ that assesses the causes of under delivery and the intended actions to increase housing delivery in future years;
- Where housing delivery falls below 85% of the local authority’s housing requirement, a 20% buffer on the local planning authority’s five-year housing land supply position should be applied;
- Where housing delivery falls below 75% of the local authority’s housing requirement, the NPPFs presumption in favour of sustainable development will apply in decision-taking
It should be noted that these consequences apply concurrently. For example, if the local planning authority falls below 85% of its housing delivery target, then an ‘Housing Action Plan’ should be produced, as well as the application of a 20% buffer on its five-year housing land supply position.
2023 Housing Delivery Test Measurement
The 2023 HDT results were published by government on 12 December 2024, showing that the total number of homes delivered in Wealden District during the preceding three-year period was 2,591 (net) dwellings. When calculated against the total number of homes required over the same period, which was 3,249 dwellings, the HDT result was 80%.
Based on this, the Council is still required to use a 20% buffer for its housing land supply position. This is reflected in the Council’s current Five-Year Housing Land Supply position as of 1st April 2024, updated in February 2025, which can be found here:
Housing Action Plan
Whilst the Council has delivered a significant number of new homes in the last year, greatly increasing delivery rates seen in preceding years, the Council’s housing requirement has also significantly increased under the revised NPPF. As a result, our HDT results remain at a similar level to preceding years and below the 95% threshold where a Housing Action Plan is required. The Council therefore continues to implement measures in the current Housing Action Plan 2024, exploring ways to reduce the risk of further under-delivery and setting out measures the authority intends to take to improve housing delivery.
The Council’s current Housing Action Plan can be found below: