MORE homes will have to be built in Brighton and Hove if a new government consultation becomes law.

A new nationwide formula for housebuilding needs, proposed in a consultation launched by the Communities and Local Government Secretary Sajid Javid on Friday, would mean 266,000 new homes per year across the country - a 66,000 increase on current plans.

In a letter to Conservative MPs, seen by The Argus, the Communities and Local Government Secretary said: “The process will require additional homes to be built in parts of the country where there is the greatest need.

“In areas where median house prices are more than four times median earnings – that’s the level at which a typical mortgage would be affordable – local authorities will be expected to plan for more homes.”

His formula calls for huge increases in areas where house prices massively outstrip earnings.

Brighton and Hove City Plan, which was signed off last year, requires the building of 660 homes each year.

However, based on the DCLG’s proposed formula, 924 homes will now have to be built in Brighton and Hove each year.

That equates to 264 more new homes per year - a rise of 40 per cent.

Elsewhere in the county the changes are not all in the same direction.

In West Sussex, the DCLG wants 412 new homes per annum in Adur, but there is no recent local assessment with which to compare.

In Arun, the formula calls for 1,199 against an existing figure of 919 - which means 280 more (30 per cent).

In Chichester, the formula calls for 609 against 505 or 104 more (21 per cent). In Crawley, the new figure is 476 against 675 - which means 199 fewer, or 42 per cent fewer.

And in Horsham, the formula calls for 974 against 650 - which means 324 more or a 50 per cent increase.

In Mid Sussex, the formula calls for 1,016 against figure of 876 - which means 140 more, or 16 per cent more.

In Worthing, the new figure is 865 against 636 or 229 more, 36 per cent more. On the other side of the county, Mr Javid’s formula changes Eastbourne’s target from a range of 555 to 743, to a set figure of 336. That is a drop of 407, or 55 per cent, compared with the higher end of the range.

Hastings’ target drops from 404 to 280, a fall of 124 which is a 31 per cent.

Lewes’s target stays largely static, with the plan proposing 483, against proposals in a range 460 to 520.

Rother’s target increases to 469 from 363, a increase of 106 and in Wealden the new figure is 630, which represents little change against the lower end of the range of existing target (625) but a reduction of half compared with the upper end (1233).