A GOVERNMENT inspector has told South Gloucestershire Council its housing figures for the district are pessimistic and may not be justified.

Independent Inspector Paul Crysell made the comments at a public meeting with the authority last week.

Mr Crysell has been appointed by the Secretary of State to review the local authority’s planning blueprint for the next 20 years, the Core Strategy.

In the Core Strategy South Gloucestershire Council endorses the building of 21,500 new homes by 2026, but this is considerably less than the 32,800 homes included in the South West Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS).

The RSS was a planning document introduced by Labour, which now because of the change in government is expected to abolished later in the year.

Mr Crysell said there was nothing wrong with having a lower housing figure but said he was not confident the council had justified the reduction.

He added: "In a sense there seems to be a considerable importance on the current economic circumstance as a driver in the figures.

He added: "I was a little concerned the level of provision was on the pessimistic side."

*See next week's Gazette for more on the meeting.