This page provides straightforward explanations how some aspects of the Planning System are working now. It includes informal advice for local councils and residents to help with understanding of how Planning works.
Housing target
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requires us to have enough sites to meet housebuilding targets for at least five years. Land must be suitable, available and deliverable for housing development. Sites need to have planning permission and be likely to be built within five years. This is known as the Five Year Housing Land Supply. It also involves reviewing the previous 3 years (delivery), known as the Housing Delivery Test (HDT). You can find more information on the HDT in Housing Delivery in Cornwall.
In December 2024 the Government published a significantly updated version of the NPPF and new planning targets for housebuilding for every council.
The mandatory housing target for Cornwall was set at 4,421. This is a significant increase on the amount previously required and planned for delivery. When the Council recalculated its position using the new methodology, in December 2024, the Council had a 3.9 year supply of land for housing. Less than the required 5 years.
Understanding the Government housing target
We have a revised housing requirement of around 4,421 dwellings per year. Because the data used to calculate these numbers changes over time, this may be slightly higher or lower at different times.
The target is calculated using the Government's standard method for assessing local housing need. It takes into account:
- The number of existing homes in Cornwall (housing stock)
- Local affordability (affordability ratios), with higher targets applied to areas where people struggle more to afford housing.
The detailed target is updated twice a year in March and May. This is when new housing stock and affordability data becomes available. The final housing requirement for the Local Plan will be based on the target at the point the Plan is submitted. We expect this to be December 2027.
If you would like more information on the calculations, please email housingintelligence@cornwall.gov.uk.
You can find more information on housing data in the Cornwall Monitoring Report webpage.
How planning decisions are affected
Out of date Cornwall Local Plan policies
National planning rules mean that because we have less than a 5 year supply of housing land with permission that our housing policies are considered ‘out of date’ for planning decisions. This means that there is a presumption in favour of sustainable development where the development is of high quality and in sustainable locations.
The planning system is designed to support sustainable development. Cornwall Council should make decisions in line with an up to date Local Plan. The default position is always approval rather than refusal, unless a proposal would:
- cause significant harm, or
- conflict with important planning policies.
Where a local plan is more than 5 years old, we must be able to show that the plan can meet the new housing requirement of 4,421 homes per year to be ‘up to date’.
In Cornwall, some policies of the Local Plan are now considered out of date. This is because the updated national housing requirements cannot be met by the existing plan. You can find more information on how Local Plan and Neighbourhood Plan policies are affected in our Interim Policy Position Statement.
When this happens, a presumption in favour of sustainable development applies to planning decisions. This is also known as the tilted balance because it shifts the decision‑making balance towards approval. Under the tilted balance, permission should only be refused where the harms clearly and decisively outweigh the benefits.
What the tilted balance means
This tilt towards approving planning applications is set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). In simple terms, planning permission should normally be granted where:
- there are no relevant Development Plan policies, or
- the most important policies for deciding the application are out of date,
unless one of the following applies:
- NPPF policies protecting important areas or assets provide a strong reason for refusal; or
- the negative impacts clearly and significantly outweigh the benefits when assessed against the NPPF as a whole. This includes consideration of sustainable locations, good design, and the delivery of affordable homes.
Even when the tilted balance applies, officers still make a planning judgement. They must judge the relative importance (‘weight’) of the benefits and harms. This is a matter of judgment, but the scope for refusal is narrower. Relying just on things like development boundaries or historic constraints is unlikely, on its own, to justify refusing permission.
The Tilted Balance and Decision Making document gives more detail on how planning case officers apply it.
What can we do
The challenge of the new housing requirements is that the only way to meet them is to approve more homes.
It is a big increase to get from the existing Local Plan housing target of 2,707 to the new 4,421 target. This means:
- we are unlikely to have a 5 year land supply for quite some time,
- the tilt towards approving planning applications will continue until we can meet that higher target, and
- this situation will exist even with the new Local Plan.
Put simply, we need to approve and build more housing to meet that test. Only then will the tilt or presumption towards approving planning decisions stop. Officers are looking at whether phasing delivery of 5 years supply might help meet the test but it is not straightforward.
You can find out more about how we are planning the homes we need at:
Comments on planning applications
Please have regard to the balance explained in this note when framing your comments on any planning application. Please also note that applications for Permission in Principle have a limited scope for consideration. You can find more information in our Permission in Principle guidance note.