Harrow Council has adopted the Harrow Local Plan 2021-2041, a comprehensive document outlining planning policies for the borough, despite significant concerns raised by councillors regarding housing targets and their achievability.
The plan, approved with 26 votes in favour and 17 abstentions, aims to provide a framework for development and protect Harrow's character. Councillor Marilyn Ashton, Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Planning & Regeneration, championed the plan, stating that the previous local plan was over a decade old and becoming obsolete. She highlighted the plan's success in recent appeal decisions, with an nearly 85% success rate in dismissing appeals in the last few months of the previous year.
However, Councillor Nitin Parekh expressed doubts about the plan's housing targets. He questioned the achievability of the current target of 802 units per year, especially after the inspector removed allocations for 500 homes at RHN and 50 homes at the former guest holder site on Marsh Lane. Councillor Parekh also voiced concern about the significantly higher housing targets expected under the new London Plan, stating, I do not have any confidence about even achieving the current lower target of 802 units. So how the Council will even think of achieving very high new target of over 2,000 which will be coming very soon.
He also noted increased housing allocations for car parks at Stanmore Station, Cannon's Park Station, and Reynolds Lane car park, and the Tesco Superstore site, suggesting these were contentious.
Councillor Graham Henson also voiced concerns, pointing out the removal of designated areas of special character, changes to the intensification zone, and an increase in small sites allocation, particularly in high-traffic areas. He also expressed disappointment that the plan lacked a stronger policy on Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and that the tall building strategy had been deleted outside of specific opportunity areas.
Councillor David Perry, Leader of the Labour Group, shared concerns about the scale of development, including potential 20-storey buildings, and the consultation process. He stated that consultation with immediate neighbours and adjacent properties for many development sites had been lacking.
He also noted that despite his urging, the administration ignored me. They've said no.
From this particular report and plan, they have definitely put residents last,
he concluded.
Despite these reservations, Councillor Paul Osborn, Leader of the Council, asserted that an independent inspector had deemed the targets achievable and the consultation process sound. He emphasised that the council was constrained by the London Plan and national policy. Councillor Osborn explained that conforming to these is necessary for a sound plan and protection from future policy changes. If we didn't conform to the London plan, we wouldn't have a sound plan. We wouldn't be in a position where we had any protection from the new national policy framework, which would mean all those housing targets come straight away rather than further down the road. We'd have no protection when the London plan becomes out of date,
he stated. Therefore, the potential consequences of failing to conform include not having a sound plan, lacking protection from national policy (leading to immediate housing targets), and having no protection when the London Plan becomes outdated.
Councillor Ashton, in her summing up, reiterated that the document could not be changed and must be adopted in its entirety, stressing the importance of having a local plan to defend against appeals, especially as the London Plan had become outdated. The recommendation to adopt the Harrow Local Plan 2021-2041 was carried. You can find more information in the Public reports pack.
