Stratford-on-Avon District Council has opened a public consultation on a draft Interim Policy Position Statement, as part of its approach to recovering a five-year land supply.
Being unable to demonstrate a five-year land supply has significant implications for the operation of planning policy. Under the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), key development plan policies relating to housing must be considered out of date, and the "presumption in favour of sustainable development" is applied in decision?making.
To address this, the District Council is implementing a comprehensive Housing Land Supply Action Plan, agreed by Cabinet in October 2025, focused on boosting supply and recovering a five-year position as quickly as possible.
A key early action is the publication of a draft Interim Policy Position Statement, which sets out:
- Which existing planning policies are now considered out of date.
- How national policy must be applied during this period.
- The implications for neighbourhood plans.
- The approach the District Council intends to take to encourage appropriate and deliverable housing proposals.
Cllr George Cowcher, Planning and Economic Development Portfolio Holder said: "The shortfall in our five-year housing land supply presents significant challenges, but it also requires us to respond openly and proactively. This interim statement is about giving clarity to residents, developers, and partners on how planning decisions will be made while we work to restore a five-year supply.
"Our priority is to support the delivery of well?planned, high?quality homes in the right places, with the infrastructure our communities need. We are acting quickly through our Housing Land Supply Action Plan, and we strongly encourage everyone with an interest in the future development of our District to take part in this consultation."
The District Council is now seeking views from residents, developers, parish councils, and other stakeholders before finalising the document.
The consultation is now open and will run until 5pm on Monday 9 March.
The draft Interim Policy Position Statement is available to view here.
Responses should be submitted via the online consultation form that can be found here.
For more information please visit: Five Year Housing Supply | Stratford-on-Avon District Council
A report on the outcomes of the consultation, together with the finalised statement, is expected to be considered by Cabinet on 13 April 2026.
Background Information
Under the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), local planning authorities must be able to demonstrate a minimum five-year supply of deliverable housing sites to help significantly boost the supply of homes.
In October 2024, the District Council's Housing Land Supply Monitor showed a 24.65-year supply when measured against its adopted Core Strategy, using the methodology required at that time.
However, the Government's updated NPPF (December 2024) introduced substantial changes to how housing need is calculated, and how past delivery can be counted. When the District Council recalculated its position using the new methodology, its June 2025 interim statement showed a much-reduced figure of 5.06 years.
This interpretation was subsequently tested at a planning appeal, where both the methodology and deliverability of individual sites were examined in detail. In September 2025, the Planning Inspectorate concluded that Stratford-on-Avon District could only demonstrate a 2.74-year housing land supply as at 31 March 2024.
