I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 in respect of the Council's published Five Year Housing Land Supply Position Statement dated July 2025 (the "Position Statement"), with a base date of 1 April 2024.
Table 6 of the Position Statement attributes 1,733 net dwellings to Appendix 1.1 ("Sites Under Construction — Application Details") as the largest single component of the Council's claimed 4,807-dwelling five-year supply. Appendix 1.1 records the gross and net dwellings of each scheme but does not show the number of dwellings already completed at the base date, nor does it set out year-by-year anticipated completions; Appendix 3 of the Position Statement provides year-by-year phasing only for Appendix 2.1 and 2.2 sites and contains no equivalent table for Appendix 1.1 sites.
The information below is requested to test how the 1,733-dwelling figure has been calculated and how it reconciles with the historic completions recorded at Table 2 of the Position Statement (1,461 net dwellings across 2021/22 to 2023/24).
Preliminary note on evidence of completion
The most reliable and authoritative evidence held by the Council of when a new dwelling has been completed is contained in the Council's own Council Tax records — in particular the Completion Notices served under paragraphs 1 to 4 of Schedule 4A to the Local Government Finance Act 1988, which specify the day on which a new dwelling is to be treated as completed for Council Tax purposes, and the dates on which new dwellings have been entered onto the Council Tax Valuation List following banding by the Valuation Office Agency. The questions below are framed by reference to those records, which the Council holds in its own systems.
Information requested
For each application listed in Appendix 1.1 of the Position Statement, please provide the following:
1. Completions prior to the base date
(a) The number of new dwellings at the site for which a Completion Notice has been served under Schedule 4A to the Local Government Finance Act 1988 with a specified completion date on or before 1 April 2024.
(b) The number of new dwellings at the site that had been entered onto the Council Tax Valuation List with an effective date on or before 1 April 2024.
(c) Where there is any difference between the figures in (a) and (b), a brief explanation of the difference.
2. Completions since the base date
(a) The number of new dwellings for which a Completion Notice has been served under Schedule 4A to the Local Government Finance Act 1988 with a specified completion date between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 (year 2024/25).
(b) The equivalent figure for the period 1 April 2025 to the date of your response (year 2025/26 to date).
(c) The number of new dwellings entered onto the Council Tax Valuation List during each of the periods in (a) and (b) above.
3. Year-by-year anticipated completions
For each application listed in Appendix 1.1, please provide the anticipated number of net dwelling completions in each of: 2024/25, 2025/26, 2026/27, 2027/28, 2028/29, and 2029/30 and any subsequent year to scheme completion. This should be in the same format as the phasing tables in Appendix 3 of the Position Statement used for Appendix 2.1 and 2.2 sites.
Where the Council does not hold a year-by-year phasing schedule for any individual Appendix 1.1 site, please confirm this and explain on what basis the full net dwelling figure has been attributed to the five-year supply period 2024/25 to 2028/29.
4. Methodology — sense-check adjustments
Paragraph 4.6 of the Position Statement records the Council's sense-check methodology in respect of Appendix 2 sites. Please confirm:
(a) Whether an equivalent sense-check exercise was carried out in respect of Appendix 1.1 sites.
(b) Where such a sense-check was carried out, please provide for each Appendix 1.1 site so adjusted: the application number; the original developer or landowner assumption; the adjustment made by the Council; and the evidence relied upon for the adjustment.
(c) Where no equivalent sense-check was carried out for Appendix 1.1 sites, please confirm this expressly and disclose any internal Council document explaining the rationale.
5. Reconciliation against historic completions
Paragraph 3.2 and Table 2 of the Position Statement record 1,461 net completions in 2021/22 to 2023/24. Please confirm whether dwellings completed at Appendix 1.1 sites before 1 April 2024 are included:
(a) in the 1,461 figure at Table 2 only;
(b) in the 1,733 forward five-year supply contribution at Appendix 1.1 only;
(c) in both; or
(d) in neither.
Where any dwellings have been counted in both Table 2 and Appendix 1.1, please provide the unit-level reconciliation. Where the Council asserts no double-counting has occurred, please disclose the working file or spreadsheet used to ensure separation between historic completions and forward supply.
Format of response
I would be grateful if the response to Questions 1, 2 and 3 is provided as a single spreadsheet (Microsoft Excel or CSV) with one row per application listed in Appendix 1.1 and columns reflecting the specific data points requested. This is the format in which the Council's underlying records are likely already held.