Housing targets in Surrey are set to skyrocket with the amount some areas are expected to deliver doubling under new Government plans.

On December 12, the long-awaited update to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was published.

It set out what councils and developers can and cannot do – and it has left boroughs and districts “disappointed”.

Across Surrey the number of new homes expected to be delivered each year has been set at 10,981, a rise of 4,635 – with some boroughs and districts bearing a significantly heavier load than others.

Worst affected will be Elmbridge Borough Council, which faces having its housing targets more than doubled, from 653 to 1,562.

Waverley District Council will also face a huge surge in its targets, up from 710 to 1,481 a year.

Cllr Liz Townsend, Waverley Borough Council portfolio holder for planning, said the borough did support some of the changes being made to the planning system, but that the more than two-fold increase in housing was both unrealistic and uncalled for.

She said: “We are extremely disappointed that it has ignored the evidence we provided to their consultation, which clearly shows that its proposed ‘standard method’ for assessing housing need is entirely unrealistic for Waverley. 

“The identified need for 1,481 new homes each year is two and a half times the current requirement in our local plan and would result in the borough’s population increasing by around 50 per cent  over the next 20 years.

“There is simply no evidence that there is this level of demand, or that building this number of homes in Waverley would necessarily make them more affordable.

“More importantly, we just don’t think that the target is realistic given the significant environmental and infrastructure constraints that affect the borough.”

She called for sustainable growth with environmental protections to nationally important landscapes and habitats.

Cllr Townsend said: “Our residents already face water supply disruptions and sewage overspills, the rural road network is crumbling, health services are overstretched, there is a shortage of secondary school places in Farnham, and some new developments have stalled due to power shortages.

“We need a clear national plan to address these issues before we can support large-scale development in Waverley.”

The massive increase across Surrey is largely in line with the July consultation targets, with Woking the only council to see its figure drop. Hopes that this might temper the sky-scrapering of the town centre and preserve the green belt however must wait as the bankrupt borough’s final target,  only dropped by one on its July consultation figure, meaning it too faces a huge increase from 436 a year to 794.

Each borough will have to demonstrate to Independent Planning Inspectors that they have explored all possible avenues for delivering new homes.