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 delivery falls below 85% of the requirement over the previous three years, the authority should include a 20% buffer to their identified supply of specific deliverable sites, in addition to the requirement for an Action Plan;
- Where delivery falls below 75% of the requirement over the previous three years, the presumption in favour of sustainable development applies, as set out in the NPPF, in addition to the requirements for an Action Plan and 20% buffer.
It should be noted that these consequences apply concurrently. The consequences will also apply the day following the publication of the HDT results and will continue to apply until the next HDT measurement is published.
Latest Housing Delivery Test Measurement
The most recent HDT results were published by government on 12 December 2024, relating to the data available in 2023. These results show 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 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 1 April 2025, which can be found here:
Housing Action Plan
Whilst the Council has delivered a significant number of new homes in recent 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 to increase the delivery rate and provision of new housing in the district. The Housing Action Plan 2025 sets out ways to reduce the risk of further under-delivery and sets out measures the authority intends to take to improve housing delivery.
The Council’s current Housing Action Plan can be found below: