Growing prosperity drives district housing demand

A local authority is reviewing its housing needs on the back of a growing local economy. 

Thanet District Council covers coastal towns and villages in east Kent including Broadstairs, Margate, Ramsgate and Minster, with more than 127,000 residents.

Head of the built environment Abigail Raymond told Planning: “Housing need is currently under review and it is expected the figure of 12,000 homes provided for in the draft plan will rise.

“Identifying land to meet such need in a small multi-centred district represents a challenge,” said Raymond, whose team is drawing up a housing needs assessment to support its local plan.

Strategic priorities for the plan include supporting planned regeneration of the coastal towns, expanding and diversifying the employment base and safeguarding the environment, she said.

According to the council the local economy has been renewed, the district is more prosperous, and the average income in Thanet is now close to that of other parts of Kent.

The council is looking to recruit a strategic planning officer to contribute to the preparation of the local plan and other planning documents.

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Image: Ramsgate Main Sands