MORE than 1,000 extra homes a year will be required from Suffolk under new Government rules.

Angela Rayner, the housing secretary, published the Government's revised national planning policy framework (NPPF), outlining how Labour will deliver on its manifesto promise of 1.5 million new homes by the end of the current parliament.

In Suffolk, the revised housing targets are equivalent to 1,265 new homes every year over and above the previous target, from 3,087 to 4,352.

Broken down into the county's local authorities, East Suffolk Council by far received the biggest hike, now being required to deliver 1,644 homes every year, up from 905 under the previous target.

The council was already struggling to meet the previous target, delivering around 816 homes per year.

Cllr Mike Packard, the authority's lead for planning, said although the council recognised the need for more housing in England, the Government's new targets were 'entirely unrealistic'.

He added: "It is clear that our response to the Government's consultation, which laid out our concerns about proposals to enforce unachievable housebuilding targets, has been disregarded.

"We entirely refute the Government's characterisation of local government as 'blockers' to planning — particularly here in East Suffolk, where we are quite the opposite."

A similar position was shared by Cllr Andrew Stringer, Mid Suffolk's planning lead, who urged the Government to take a collaborative approach and work with the housebuilding industry, social housing companies, councils and communities to address challenges.

Although the yearly target for the authority has increased from 535 to 734, it delivered 1,014 last year.

He added: "We all want the same thing — good quality, affordable homes in vibrant communities but the Government's suggestion that councils are the problem is simply wrong."

In Babergh, Cllr Deborah Saw, the leader, said the Government should 'stop the blame game' after the council had its target increased from 416 to 775.

She added: "We want to build good quality, affordable homes in vibrant communities that are well-served by employment, schools, GPs, green spaces, and good transport links.

"We also want to build more social housing for rent or shared ownership, but it is very challenging without the necessary funding for delivery."

Alongside the target changes, the Government announced 300 additional planning officers alongside £100 million extra — it is unclear how much Suffolk would benefit from this allocation.

In West Suffolk, the target increase was the second highest in the county, with the authority required to deliver 1,200 new homes every year, up from 765 before the changes.

Cllr Richard O'Driscoll, the council's lead for housing, said the authority would be speaking to the Government to see how challenges could be addressed without overburdening housing growth in other areas.

He added: "There are challenges in how we deliver these — we need greater flexibility to deliver growth to benefit Brandon for instance which is currently restricted due to the presence of species including stone curlews.

"We recognise where new homes are built, and the need to ensure that they are the right type in the right locations with supporting infrastructure is a sensitive subject and we will be carrying out more public engagement next year."

Ipswich Borough Council said it needed time to fully consider the Government announcement which had its housing delivery target increased from 466 to 723 — between the 2020/21 and 2022/23 financial years, the council averaged 228 new homes.