Walsall Borough Housing Strategy 2026 - Policy and methodological context

All local planning authorities are required to follow NPPF (2023) guidelines in assessing and reflect the size, type, and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community. All assessments are required to disaggregate local housing need into household types and tenures. Walsall’s assessment follows the Standard Method as set out in the Planning Practice Guidance (PPG), with demographic adjustments based on the latest ONS projections and Census data (HMA).

To meet these requirements, the Long-Term Balancing Housing Markets (LTBHM) model has been used to disaggregate housing need by size and tenure, and a separate Affordable Housing Need Model to quantify affordable housing needs (HMA, Ch. 5–6).

In addition to the HMA, Walsall Council has also commissioned a Specialist and Supported Housing Accommodation Needs Assessment from Housing LIN (November 2025), which informs and is directly aligned with the council’s latest Housing with Care and Support Services Market Position Statement (2025–2040). This provides a detailed, robust, and person-centred evidence base for specialist and supported housing needs up to 2040. The Housing LIN assessment uses an alternative methodology to the HMA (incorporating transition probability modelling, national survey data, and lived experience evidence) and covers a slightly different time period (with projections to 2040, rather than 2042). As a result, the Needs figures presented in this section draw on both sources, and it should be noted timeframes, definitions, or totals may differ accordingly.

The Housing LIN assessment provides a more granular breakdown of requirements for older people, people with disabilities, learning disabilities/autism, and mental health needs, including tenure splits and locality-level targets. The integration of this evidence ensures that the Housing Strategy is fully aligned with national policy and the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 and is responsive to the changing demographic profile of Walsall.