The VALP is unable to demonstrate a sufficient supply over the plan period and accordingly it will be necessary to identify additional sources of supply.

As set out in response to MM001, in order to address the Inspector's concerns, it is necessary to meet the housing need for at least 30,345 homes. It should be underlined that this is an absolute minimum which should be exceeded to better account for the migration effects of the financial crisis and to provide an appropriate market signals uplift.

The Inspector has identified that it is appropriate to plan for an additional buffer of 5.2% to ensure that these needs are met, whether as part of the housing requirement or additional to it. This would equate to a supply of 31,923 homes.

The VALP however only proposes to provide a supply of 30,233 homes in MM009. This is not only insufficient to meet the absolute minimum housing need but it also provides absolutely no contingency to ensure that this minimum need is met as required by the Inspector.