The updated National Planning Policy Framework 2024 (NPPF) states, in paragraph 69, that "strategic policy-making authorities should establish a housing requirement figure for their whole area, which shows the extent to which their identified housing need...can be met over the plan period".
These indicative local housing need figures were published in December 2024 following the new standard method, alongside the updated NPPF.
North Herts has an updated indicative housing need figure of 1,018 additional dwellings per year.
Paragraph 69 of the NPPF goes on to state that "within this overall requirement, strategic policies should also set out a housing requirement for designated neighbourhood areas which reflects the overall strategy for the pattern and scale of development and any relevant allocations".
Paragraph 70 states that "where it is not possible to provide a requirement figure for a neighbourhood area, the local planning authority should provide an indicative figure, if requested to do so by the neighbourhood planning body".
In order to provide indicative housing figures for neighbourhood planning areas, we have followed a simple but fair application of numbers in the absence of the Local Plan update. The updated housing figure has been applied according to the population of the parishes, taken from the 2021 Census.
We acknowledge that this is a crude application and it will be further refined through the Local Plan update process. It should be noted that these figures are indicative only and should not be considered final numbers.
| Parish | Population numbers - 2021 Census | % of North Herts population in 2021 | Indicative housing numbers per year | Indicative housing numbers over 20 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Made Neighbourhood Plans | ||||
| Ashwell | 1,984 | 1.5 | 15 | 300 |
| Baldock*, Bygrave & Clothall | 11,098 | 8.3 | 85 | 1,700 |
| Ickleford | 1,937 | 1.5 | 15 | 300 |
| Knebworth | 4,559 | 3.4 | 35 | 700 |
| Pirton | 1,457 | 1.1 | 11 | 220 |
| Preston | 431 | 0.3 | 3 | 60 |
| Wallington | 118 | 0.1 | 1 | 20 |
| Wymondley | 1,198 | 0.9 | 9 | 180 |
| Neighbourhood Plans in progress | ||||
| Codicote | 3,608 | 2.7 | 28 | 560 |
| Barkway & Nuthampstead | 988 | 0.7 | 7 | 140 |
| The rest of North Herts | 105,831 | 79.4 | 808 | 16,160 |
| North Herts | 133,209 | 100 | 1,018 | 20,360 |
* Ward figures for Baldock East and Baldock Town