Proposed Main Modifications

My response concerns the document regarding overall numbers in the local plan.

It is completely unclear why NHDC appear to think that they know better than ONS when making predictions about the number of houses that will be needed in the area. That the inspector required the ONS numbers to be published alongside the plan suggests that he/she thinks this too.

This is especially of concern when the disparity of nearly 30% or several thousand houses is so great. Not building all or most of the additional houses (which the ONS think we will not need on the timescale discussed) would allow us to preserve a great chunk of greenbelt land. While it is possible that eventually building on this land may be inevitable, it is hard to predict what will happen so many years into the future, in terms of housing technology as well as in terms of population in the area. In my opinion the response of NHDC on this matter is inadequate and this matter should be re-examined closely.