Suffolk

Uncertainties resulting from Local Government Reorganisation and Devolution have led to protracted Local Plan-making timetables across Suffolk, meaning limited opportunities to promote sites this way.  However, opportunities for early applications have opened up in some parts of the county as a result of the changes to Housing Targets.

Both East Suffolk and Mid Suffolk and Babergh have opted to prepare new Local Plans under the new plan-making system set out in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act, 2023.  Regulations are yet to come into force, meaning that work cannot formally commence in earnest, and new Plans are not expected to be in place until 2028/9.  The potential for Local Government Reorganisation to derail plan-making is significant, so it is understandable that the Councils are reluctant to commit too much resource to the process until there is greater clarity. 

Meanwhile, West Suffolk’s new Local Plan is due to be Adopted in July, providing in excess of 6 years’ worth of housing supply, meaning that opportunities there are likely to be limited.

Five-Year Land Supply

The increased housing targets introduced in December 2024 have hit hardest in East Suffolk, where the Waveney part of the Plan area finds itself without a 5-year land supply, with Suffolk Coastal likely to follow suit later this year.  Continued struggles with delivery in Ipswich mean they also find themselves without a sufficient supply.  Mid Suffolk and Babergh are currently more insulated from the impacts, as a result of a their more recently adopted Local Plan, but Babergh may struggle to provide a sufficient supply of sites when the 20% buffer comes into force in July 2026.