Objectively Assessed Need & Housing Requirements
A central tenet of the NPPF is the provision of sufficient housing to meet the needs of present and future generations and, in doing so, to widen the choice of housing (paragraphs 7 and 9). To achieve that it requires (paragraph 14) "local planning authorities should positively seek opportunities to meet the development needs of their area", that "Local Plans should meet objectively assessed needs, with sufficient flexibility to adapt to rapid change", and set out a "clear strategy for allocating sufficient land" (paragraph 17). Delivery is underpinned by paragraph 47, which seeks to significantly boost the supply of housing requiring local planning authorities to "use their evidence base to ensure that their Local Plan meets the full, objectively assessed needs for market and affordable housing in the housing market area".

In terms of the required evidence base, the NPPF requires (para. 159) local planning authorities to prepare a Strategic Market Housing Assessment (SHMA) to assess their full housing needs, and that the SHMA should identify the scale and mix of housing and the range of tenure that the local population is likely to need over the plan period. That should meet household and population projections, address the needs for all types of housing and cater for housing demand in the area. The housing requirement set out in Policies SS1 and H1 is derived from the Housing and Economic Development Needs Assessment (HEDNA) published in January 2017. That concluded that the Objectively Assessed Need (OAN) for Harborough District for the period 2011-2031 is 532dpa and for the period 2011-2036 is 514 dpa.

However, the HEDNA does not take account of the proposed major extension to Magna Park within the M6, M69 and M1 triangle (700,000m2 of B8 floor space) in the period to 2031. The Council's Magna Park Employment Growth Sensitivity Study 2017 concludes that in order to align this employment growth and housing provision, the housing requirement should be increased by 25dpa above the HEDNA OAN figures. That should be appropriately reflected in the housing requirements established in Policies SS1 and H1.