by Ed Dade
Posted on Feb. 15, 2020
The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has now published the latest results of its Housing Delivery Test (HDT), based on the number of new homes built in the period 2016 to 2019.
The HDT 2019 measurement for each council area is provided in the searchable table below.
The HDT calculates the number of new homes built, as a percentage of the number of homes needed over the past three years. MHCLG re-calculates an HDT figure annually for every council area in England. The new 2019 measurement replaces the previous 2018 measurement.
The purpose of the HDT is to hold local authorities to account over the supply of new housing.
Where the HDT shows the delivery of new homes has fallen below 95% of the district or borough's housing requirement over the previous three years, the council should prepare an Action Plan to assess the causes of under-delivery and identify actions to increase delivery in future years.
Where the HDT shows a district's housing delivery is less than 85%, the council must add an additional buffer when calculating its Five Year Land Supply - equivalent to one extra year's worth of housing.
Where an area's HDT figure falls below 45%, the 'presumption in favour of sustainable development' must be applied - meaning relevant planning policies have diminished status when determining planning applications.
Whilst the HDT is intended to punish local planning authorities for poor housing deliver, it can have severe implications for the status of Neighbourhood Plans by rendering some policies 'out of date'. See my blog post "Presumption-proofing" Neighbourhood Plans for more info.
Eight local authority areas are now facing the presumption in favour of sustainable development, as a consequence of the HDT 2019 measurement. Details of Neighbourhood Plans by local authority area can be found using the Neighbourhood Plan Finder.
This 2019 measurement saw the threshold for applying the 'presumption' increase from 25% (in 2018) to 45%. The 2020 measurement (due to be published in 2021) will see the threshold further increase to 75%.
The HDT is a genuine threat to neighbourhood planning, undermining the efforts of those communities who have gone to the effort of writing a Neighbourhood Plan where housing delivery has been poor across the wider district or borough area.
Find the HDT 2019 measurement for you local authority in the table below. For each local authority area the HDT checker shows the number of homes required and delivered over the three year period 2016-19, the HDT measurement (%), and the consequence the area faces as a result of the HDT 2019 measurement. The table can be sorted by clicking table headings.
Name of area | Total no. of homes required 2016-19 | Total no. of homes delivered 2016-19 | HDT 2019 measure-ment | HDT 2019 con-sequence |
---|---|---|---|---|
Adur | 532 | 300 | 56% | Buffer |
Allerdale | 351 | 1067 | 304% | None |
Amber Valley | 1134 | 1811 | 160% | None |
Arun | 2934 | 1997 | 68% | Buffer |
Ashfield | 1399 | 1327 | 95% | None |
Ashford | 2456 | 2173 | 88% | Action plan |
Aylesbury Vale | 3449 | 4495 | 130% | None |
Babergh | 926 | 1136 | 123% | None |
Barking and Dagenham | 3708 | 1902 | 51% | Buffer |
Barnet | 6832 | 6139 | 90% | Action plan |
Barnsley | 2600 | 2847 | 110% | None |
Barrow-in-Furness | 0 | 335 | NA | None |
Basildon | 2506 | 1093 | 44% | Presumption |
Basingstoke and Deane | 2453 | 2587 | 105% | None |
Bassetlaw | 919 | 1444 | 157% | None |
Bath and North East Somerset | 1555 | 3810 | 245% | None |
Bedford | 3206 | 3996 | 125% | None |
Bexley | 1239 | 1608 | 130% | None |
Birmingham | 7852 | 9487 | 121% | None |
Blaby | 893 | 1853 | 207% | None |
Blackburn with Darwen | 591 | 903 | 153% | None |
Blackpool | 362 | 525 | 145% | None |
Bolsover | 683 | 835 | 122% | None |
Bolton | 2496 | 1449 | 58% | Buffer |
Boston | 759 | 1136 | 150% | None |
Bournemouth | 3064 | 2010 | 66% | Buffer |
Bracknell Forest | 1687 | 1662 | 99% | None |
Bradford | 5138 | 4819 | 94% | Action plan |
Braintree | 1992 | 1337 | 67% | Buffer |
Breckland | 1778 | 2076 | 117% | None |
Brent | 4575 | 4890 | 107% | None |
Brentwood | 1083 | 574 | 53% | Buffer |
Brighton and Hove | 1965 | 1371 | 70% | Buffer |
Bristol, City of | 6097 | 5331 | 87% | Action plan |
Bromley | 1923 | 2174 | 113% | None |
Bromsgrove | 1458 | 1016 | 70% | Buffer |
Broxbourne | 1343 | 1082 | 81% | Buffer |
Broxtowe | 1040 | 901 | 87% | Action plan |
Burnley | 194 | 787 | 405% | None |
Bury | 1687 | 1034 | 61% | Buffer |
Calderdale | 2440 | 1160 | 48% | Buffer |
Cambridge | 1379 | 3856 | 280% | None |
Camden | 3360 | 2924 | 87% | Action plan |
Cannock Chase | 719 | 1233 | 172% | None |
Canterbury | 2275 | 1983 | 87% | Action plan |
Carlisle | 603 | 1671 | 277% | None |
Castle Point | 890 | 480 | 54% | Buffer |
Central Bedfordshire | 5860 | 6018 | 103% | None |
Charnwood | 2400 | 3167 | 132% | None |
Chelmsford | 2321 | 3266 | 141% | None |
Cheltenham | 1033 | 1830 | 177% | None |
Cherwell | 1870 | 3978 | 213% | None |
Cheshire East | 3084 | 7089 | 230% | None |
Cheshire West and Chester | 1807 | 6897 | 382% | None |
Chesterfield | 694 | 452 | 65% | Buffer |
Chichester | 1304 | 1738 | 133% | None |
Chiltern | 726 | 877 | 121% | None |
Chorley | 1515 | 1751 | 116% | None |
City of London | 275 | 88 | 32% | Presumption |
Colchester | 2770 | 3392 | 122% | None |
Copeland | 115 | 403 | 351% | None |
Corby | 1266 | 1604 | 127% | None |
Cornwall | 7160 | 9610 | 134% | None |
Cotswold | 1003 | 2507 | 250% | None |
County Durham | 3969 | 4620 | 116% | None |
Coventry | 3462 | 3723 | 108% | None |
Craven | 418 | 710 | 170% | None |
Crawley | 631 | 1487 | 235% | None |
Croydon | 4939 | 6544 | 132% | None |
Dacorum | 1379 | 1900 | 138% | None |
Darlington | 541 | 1303 | 241% | None |
Dartford | 1991 | 3206 | 161% | None |
Daventry | 1906 | 2231 | 117% | None |
Derby | 1758 | 2307 | 131% | None |
Derbyshire Dales | 643 | 943 | 147% | None |
Doncaster | 1715 | 3584 | 209% | None |
Dover | 1471 | 1351 | 92% | Action plan |
Dudley | 1799 | 2087 | 116% | None |
Ealing | 3525 | 4214 | 120% | None |
East Cambridgeshire | 1392 | 922 | 66% | Buffer |
East Devon | 2092 | 2534 | 121% | None |
East Hampshire | 1445 | 2489 | 172% | None |
East Hertfordshire | 2418 | 2121 | 88% | Action plan |
East Lindsey | 1189 | 1298 | 109% | None |
East Northamptonshire | 1112 | 1386 | 125% | None |
East Riding of Yorkshire | 2823 | 3786 | 134% | None |
East Staffordshire | 1260 | 2040 | 162% | None |
Eastbourne | 1199 | 460 | 38% | Presumption |
Eastleigh | 1775 | 2572 | 145% | None |
Eden | 301 | 689 | 229% | None |
Elmbridge | 1421 | 824 | 58% | Buffer |
Enfield | 2394 | 1839 | 77% | Buffer |
Epping Forest | 2266 | 1139 | 50% | Buffer |
Epsom and Ewell | 1374 | 673 | 49% | Buffer |
Erewash | 1100 | 685 | 62% | Buffer |
Exeter | 1519 | 1968 | 130% | None |
Fareham | 944 | 937 | 99% | None |
Fenland | 1414 | 1294 | 92% | Action plan |
Forest Heath | 954 | 1142 | 120% | None |
Forest of Dean | 887 | 786 | 89% | Action plan |
Fylde | 788 | 1438 | 183% | None |
Gateshead | 1353 | 813 | 60% | Buffer |
Gedling | 1224 | 707 | 58% | Buffer |
Gloucester | 1080 | 1654 | 153% | None |
Gosport | 510 | 446 | 87% | Action plan |
Gravesham | 975 | 734 | 75% | Buffer |
Great Yarmouth | 902 | 699 | 77% | Buffer |
Greenwich | 6432 | 5775 | 90% | Action plan |
Guildford | 1627 | 1343 | 83% | Buffer |
Hackney | 4797 | 4180 | 87% | Action plan |
Halton | 804 | 1665 | 207% | None |
Hambleton | 591 | 1438 | 243% | None |
Hammersmith and Fulham | 2174 | 3676 | 169% | None |
Harborough | 1338 | 1777 | 133% | None |
Haringey | 4506 | 2488 | 55% | Buffer |
Harlow | 1150 | 1297 | 113% | None |
Harrogate | 1058 | 1641 | 155% | None |
Harrow | 1565 | 2646 | 169% | None |
Hart | 741 | 1787 | 241% | None |
Hartlepool | 585 | 824 | 141% | None |
Hastings | 609 | 509 | 84% | Buffer |
Havant | 1195 | 1206 | 101% | None |
Havering | 3510 | 1167 | 33% | Presumption |
Herefordshire, County of | 2237 | 1798 | 80% | Buffer |
Hertsmere | 1296 | 1609 | 124% | None |
High Peak | 799 | 1214 | 152% | None |
Hillingdon | 1462 | 2696 | 184% | None |
Hinckley and Bosworth | 1223 | 1456 | 119% | None |
Horsham | 2336 | 3448 | 148% | None |
Hounslow | 2466 | 2571 | 104% | None |
Huntingdonshire | 2295 | 2531 | 110% | None |
Hyndburn | 212 | 416 | 196% | None |
Ipswich | 1319 | 611 | 46% | Buffer |
Isle of Wight | 1727 | 1050 | 61% | Buffer |
Isles of Scilly | 0 | 1 | NA | None |
Islington | 3792 | 2388 | 63% | Buffer |
Kensington and Chelsea | 1234 | 703 | 57% | Buffer |
Kettering | 1417 | 1845 | 130% | None |
King's Lynn and West Norfolk | 1504 | 1245 | 83% | Buffer |
Kingston upon Hull, City of | 1362 | 2649 | 194% | None |
Kingston upon Thames | 1649 | 1288 | 78% | Buffer |
Kirklees | 4704 | 3859 | 82% | Buffer |
Knowsley | 775 | 1941 | 250% | None |
Lambeth | 3585 | 4320 | 121% | None |
Lancaster | 1089 | 1454 | 134% | None |
Leeds | 7823 | 8534 | 109% | None |
Leicester | 3714 | 4951 | 133% | None |
Lewes | 824 | 763 | 93% | Action plan |
Lewisham | 4078 | 4111 | 101% | None |
Lichfield | 1076 | 1639 | 152% | None |
Liverpool | 4473 | 8103 | 181% | None |
Luton | 1275 | 2363 | 185% | None |
Maidstone | 2642 | 3577 | 135% | None |
Maldon | 750 | 751 | 100% | None |
Manchester | 7134 | 7099 | 100% | None |
Mansfield | 784 | 863 | 110% | None |
Medway | 4328 | 1978 | 46% | Buffer |
Melton | 507 | 507 | 100% | None |
Mendip | 1257 | 1590 | 127% | None |
Merton | 1207 | 1330 | 110% | None |
Mid Devon | 953 | 1290 | 135% | None |
Mid Suffolk | 1435 | 1421 | 99% | None |
Mid Sussex | 2444 | 2333 | 95% | None |
Middlesbrough | 744 | 1592 | 214% | None |
Milton Keynes | 4793 | 4495 | 94% | Action plan |
Mole Valley | 1123 | 1004 | 89% | Action plan |
New Forest | 2415 | 1038 | 43% | Presumption |
Newark and Sherwood | 1280 | 1726 | 135% | None |
Newcastle upon Tyne | 2658 | 6512 | 245% | None |
Newcastle-under-Lyme | 911 | 892 | 98% | None |
Newham | 6740 | 5210 | 77% | Buffer |
North Dorset | 741 | 524 | 71% | Buffer |
North East Derbyshire | 744 | 867 | 117% | None |
North East Lincolnshire | 689 | 893 | 130% | None |
North Hertfordshire | 2395 | 1042 | 44% | Presumption |
North Lincolnshire | 1316 | 983 | 75% | Buffer |
North Norfolk | 1330 | 1530 | 115% | None |
North Somerset | 3121 | 2444 | 78% | Buffer |
North Tyneside | 2209 | 2819 | 128% | None |
North Warwickshire | 572 | 890 | 156% | None |
North West Leicestershire | 942 | 2535 | 269% | None |
Northampton | 1951 | 2478 | 127% | None |
Northumberland | 1972 | 4709 | 239% | None |
Nottingham | 2841 | 3823 | 135% | None |
Nuneaton and Bedworth | 1637 | 1599 | 98% | None |
Oadby and Wigston | 316 | 375 | 119% | None |
Oldham | 1822 | 1176 | 65% | Buffer |
Oxford | 1646 | 1151 | 70% | Buffer |
Pendle | 529 | 628 | 119% | None |
Peterborough | 2673 | 3039 | 114% | None |
Poole | 1710 | 1270 | 74% | Buffer |
Portsmouth | 2060 | 2455 | 119% | None |
Preston | 745 | 2327 | 313% | None |
Purbeck | 411 | 286 | 70% | Buffer |
Reading | 1580 | 2615 | 165% | None |
Redbridge | 3370 | 2017 | 60% | Buffer |
Redcar and Cleveland | 386 | 1461 | 379% | None |
Redditch | 2 | 961 | 55076% | None |
Reigate and Banstead | 1380 | 1639 | 119% | None |
Ribble Valley | 429 | 1193 | 278% | None |
Richmond upon Thames | 945 | 1147 | 121% | None |
Richmondshire | 94 | 813 | 863% | None |
Rochdale | 1362 | 1947 | 143% | None |
Rochford | 876 | 677 | 77% | Buffer |
Rossendale | 610 | 466 | 77% | Buffer |
Rother | 1006 | 706 | 70% | Buffer |
Rotherham | 1754 | 1499 | 85% | Action plan |
Rugby | 1739 | 1910 | 110% | None |
Runnymede | 1344 | 1651 | 123% | None |
Rushcliffe | 1520 | 1876 | 123% | None |
Rushmoor | 791 | 1117 | 141% | None |
Rutland | 341 | 721 | 212% | None |
Ryedale | 462 | 872 | 189% | None |
Salford | 3858 | 7161 | 186% | None |
Sandwell | 4118 | 2423 | 59% | Buffer |
Scarborough | 500 | 1410 | 282% | None |
Sedgemoor | 1742 | 2118 | 122% | None |
Sefton | 1709 | 1740 | 102% | None |
Selby | 1044 | 1801 | 173% | None |
Sevenoaks | 1712 | 1212 | 71% | Buffer |
Sheffield | 5842 | 6528 | 112% | None |
Shepway | 1248 | 1579 | 127% | None |
Shropshire | 3278 | 5629 | 172% | None |
Slough | 2528 | 1911 | 76% | Buffer |
Solihull | 2000 | 2105 | 105% | None |
South Bucks | 1073 | 1196 | 111% | None |
South Cambridgeshire | 2675 | 2529 | 95% | None |
South Derbyshire | 2093 | 2992 | 143% | None |
South Gloucestershire | 3590 | 4802 | 134% | None |
South Holland | 1194 | 1390 | 116% | None |
South Kesteven | 1947 | 1602 | 82% | Buffer |
South Lakeland | 565 | 987 | 175% | None |
South Northamptonshire | 1736 | 2299 | 132% | None |
South Oxfordshire | 1466 | 3022 | 206% | None |
South Ribble | 691 | 986 | 143% | None |
South Somerset | 1899 | 1834 | 97% | None |
South Staffordshire | 643 | 758 | 118% | None |
South Tyneside | 1053 | 992 | 94% | Action plan |
Southampton | 2415 | 3599 | 149% | None |
Southend-on-Sea | 2848 | 1493 | 52% | Buffer |
Southwark | 7047 | 6552 | 93% | Action plan |
Spelthorne | 1509 | 904 | 60% | Buffer |
St Albans | 2219 | 1397 | 63% | Buffer |
St Edmundsbury | 1144 | 1079 | 94% | Action plan |
St. Helens | 1454 | 1673 | 115% | None |
Stafford | 1157 | 2572 | 222% | None |
Staffordshire Moorlands | 551 | 438 | 79% | Buffer |
Stevenage | 1120 | 1262 | 113% | None |
Stockport | 2856 | 2127 | 74% | Buffer |
Stockton-on-Tees | 1580 | 2489 | 158% | None |
Stoke-on-Trent | 1417 | 2467 | 174% | None |
Stratford-on-Avon | 1486 | 4028 | 271% | None |
Stroud | 1374 | 1424 | 104% | None |
Suffolk Coastal | 1359 | 1720 | 127% | None |
Sunderland | 1634 | 2520 | 154% | None |
Surrey Heath | 781 | 947 | 121% | None |
Sutton | 1281 | 2013 | 157% | None |
Swale | 2328 | 1802 | 77% | Buffer |
Swindon | 3124 | 3557 | 114% | None |
Tameside | 2016 | 1508 | 75% | Buffer |
Tamworth | 371 | 628 | 169% | None |
Tandridge | 1541 | 776 | 50% | Buffer |
Taunton Deane | 1580 | 2376 | 150% | None |
Teignbridge | 1656 | 2088 | 126% | None |
Telford and Wrekin | 1486 | 3628 | 244% | None |
Tendring | 2099 | 2138 | 102% | None |
Test Valley | 1291 | 2522 | 195% | None |
Tewkesbury | 1486 | 2580 | 174% | None |
Thanet | 2616 | 923 | 35% | Presumption |
Three Rivers | 1367 | 560 | 41% | Presumption |
Thurrock | 2835 | 1868 | 66% | Buffer |
Tonbridge and Malling | 2095 | 2451 | 117% | None |
Torbay | 1365 | 1271 | 93% | Action plan |
Tower Hamlets | 10318 | 7780 | 75% | Buffer |
Trafford | 3142 | 1815 | 58% | Buffer |
Tunbridge Wells | 1795 | 1546 | 86% | Action plan |
Uttlesford | 1749 | 2677 | 153% | None |
Vale of White Horse | 1896 | 4483 | 236% | None |
Wakefield | 2962 | 5689 | 192% | None |
Walsall | 2486 | 1988 | 80% | Buffer |
Waltham Forest | 2430 | 2590 | 107% | None |
Wandsworth | 4719 | 6605 | 140% | None |
Warrington | 2581 | 1354 | 52% | Buffer |
Warwick | 2365 | 3048 | 129% | None |
Watford | 1371 | 956 | 70% | Buffer |
Waveney | 983 | 873 | 89% | Action plan |
Waverley | 1614 | 1375 | 85% | Action plan |
Wealden | 2284 | 1896 | 83% | Buffer |
Wellingborough | 913 | 862 | 94% | Action plan |
Welwyn Hatfield | 2034 | 1448 | 71% | Buffer |
West Berkshire | 1469 | 1601 | 109% | None |
West Lancashire | 547 | 949 | 173% | None |
West Oxfordshire | 1646 | 1875 | 114% | None |
West Somerset | 322 | 269 | 83% | Buffer |
Westminster | 3022 | 3087 | 102% | None |
Wigan | 2842 | 3115 | 110% | None |
Wiltshire | 5374 | 8006 | 149% | None |
Winchester | 1571 | 2191 | 139% | None |
Windsor and Maidenhead | 1966 | 1905 | 97% | None |
Wirral | 2192 | 1664 | 76% | Buffer |
Woking | 1022 | 988 | 97% | None |
Wokingham | 2156 | 3780 | 175% | None |
Wolverhampton | 1977 | 2099 | 106% | None |
Worthing | 2093 | 1139 | 54% | Buffer |
Wycombe | 1474 | 2352 | 160% | None |
Wyre | 863 | 1268 | 147% | None |
Wyre Forest | 636 | 630 | 99% | None |
York | 2662 | 2160 | 81% | Buffer |