The UK government's proposal to use a mathematical formula to determine where to build 300,000 new homes a year has been criticised by campaigners.
The formula would be used to set a target number of homes to build for each area in England, with the aim of building more housing in less affordable places to increase stock and reduce overall prices.
It represents a change in the existing method of calculating housebuilding targets.
Planning groups voiced concern that using the revised formula, which has been widely described as an algorithm, would mean building more homes in expensive areas in the south while leaving the north underdeveloped.
The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) said the formula "does not make sense" and would "risk destroying large areas of countryside". Local Government Association (LGA) agreed that "algorithms and formulas can never be a substitute for local knowledge". Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) added "governing by algorithm doesn't work", warning "untested changes to local planning could lead to the worst of all possible worlds".
Government wants to update existing formula
Earlier this year the UK government held a consultation on its white paper Planning for the Future, which detailed wide-ranging changes that could be made to the planning system to reach a target of 300,000 new homes built every year.
The government currently uses a formula based on predictions of how much growth the...