MORE homes will be needed in Salisbury to meet the demands of the city’s predicted economic growth, civic chiefs have warned.

Originally, an update to Wiltshire Council’s Local Plan – which now runs to 2036 – had forecast that the housing need in Salisbury and its surrounding areas had dropped from 12,230 to 10,975.

But this was questioned by authority bosses, who now believe that new jobs and economic growth in the city will outpace population change.

Concerns were raised at the authority’s Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that there may not be enough workers in the area, if more homes are not developed.

To meet housing need for more workers into the area, Wiltshire Council is set to investigate plans that could see extra development in Amesbury, Tidworth and Ludgershall and a new community created in rural parts outside the city near the Boscombe and Porton area.

Documents released as part of the Local Plan update also suggested that, in Salisbury, 60 hectares of land for new businesses will be needed by 2036, with ten hectares still unallocated and left to locate.

Cabinet member Councillor Toby Sturgis said testing on housing projections will now take place until the Local Plan is submitted to the Secretary of State.

He said: “The worry is that the government regularly change housing expectations. When we get to submission stage everything is fixed for two years we don’t have to worry what the Government does.

“It is a tight timeframe but the work preparation is good. It is my intention we will consult and communicate all the best we can with town and parish councils.”

Also at the meeting, it was heard that housing projections for Wiltshire, between 2016 and 2036, have been increased to 45,600 new homes.

This means that the minimum number of new homes needed is 40,840, however new government projections say the need has increased to keep up with the number of jobs created in the county in just under 15 years time.

Nevertheless, this housing need has been mainly earmarked for the Chippenham area.

Cabinet members added that new housing demand for Swindon should not impact Wiltshire Council’s targets.