Sometimes simple is best.

Tony Blair, then still leader of the opposition and speaking several months before Labour’s crushing general election win, stepped up to the podium at his party’s conference.

His speech on October 1, 1996, was long and included a line about his party’s main priorities for government.

But the most memorable line, and one still uttered today, contained just one word, repeated three times.

Education, education, education.

Some 28 years later, we once again have a Labour prime minister, but his mantra may well focus on the three Bs, rather than the three Rs.

Build, build, build.

Last week the government had housebuilders rubbing their hands with glee and many council figures holding their head in despair as they unveiled plans to change planning rules.

The government has upped house-building targets and wants more than 370,000 new homes to be built annually in a bid to ease England’s housing shortage.

And that means that councils like Waverley, East Hampshire and Winchester will more than likely have to accept more planning applications, regardless of location or unpopularity, with local authorities being pressured into granting developers permission to build.

The five-year housing target for Waverley under the Labour government is more than 100 per cent than what it was under Conservative rule.

If reached, nearly 1,500 new homes would be built in the borough every year.

Last week Waverley Borough Council approved plans for 320 homes at Coxbridge Farm on the western approach to Farnham. Even if WBC granted permission to build four estates of this size, every year for the next five, it would still fall short of the target.

The “identified need of 1,481 new homes” a year set by the government is also two-and-a-half times the current requirement in the Waverley Local Plan, and would see the borough’s population double over the next 20 years.

Needless to say WBC and their Surrey and Hampshire counterparts are deeply concerned about the revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework.

The NPPF is a rulebook for local planning authorities and developments which sets out what they can and cannot do when planning developments.

The update announced last Thursday includes changes to the “standard method” the government uses to calculate local housing need. It also encourages councils to review their Green Belt boundaries where necessary to meet demand.

The “standard method” has been a perennial headache for EHDC as this procedure, coupled with the presence of the South Downs National Park eating into more than a half of the district, means that communities like Alton, Four Marks, Whitehill & Bordon and Liphook are facing huge levels of housing development.

It's also been criticised by Councillor Liz Townsend, with the WBC Portfolio Holder for Planning and Economic Development lambasting the government for its revised figures and misguided belief that building more homes will improve prospects for first-time buyers.

She said: “While we support some of the changes that the Government is making to the planning system, we are extremely disappointed that it has ignored the evidence we provided to their consultation.

“The evidence we provided clearly shows its proposed ‘standard method’ for assessing housing need is entirely unrealistic for Waverley.

“The identified need for 1,481 new homes each year is two and a half times the current requirement in our Local Plan and would result in the Borough’s population increasing by around 50 per cent over the next 20 years.”

Cllr Townsend added: “There is simply no evidence that there is this level of demand, or that building this number of homes in Waverley would necessarily make them more affordable.

“More importantly, we just don’t think that the target is realistic given the significant environmental and infrastructure constraints that affect the Borough.

“The council wants to work with the government, housebuilders, and other stakeholders to deliver the new homes that we need, but growth must be in sustainable locations and at a reasonable pace.

“Aside from the need to protect our precious environment, including nationally important landscapes and habitats, our residents already face water supply disruptions and sewage overspills, the rural road network is crumbling and health services are overstretched.

“There is a shortage of secondary school places in Farnham, and some new developments have stalled due to power shortages.

“We need a clear national plan to address these issues before we can support large-scale development in Waverley.”

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook has said the focus will be on areas where housing is least affordable as millions can’t afford to buy a first home and there is a backlog of people living in unsuitable accommodation.

But while they insist that cities and large towns – especially ones surrounding London – will be the focus for growth, predominantly rural districts like East Hampshire and Winchester are facing huge rises.

The annual housebuilding target for East Hampshire will rise from 575 to 1,142 with the changes, while it’s a jump from 676 to 1,157 in Winchester.

The jump is even higher in Hart, as its current delivery target is 297 homes a year – with the possible new target being 750. And although the increase is less hefty in Guildford, meeting a target of 1,170 new homes, compared to the current 562 figure, is still a stretch.

“It will be incredibly challenging to accommodate this revised mandatory level of growth,” said Fiona White, lead councillor for planning at GBC.

"We face several constraints in Guildford, and stronger infrastructure will be needed to support this increase in development."

The changes to national planning policy are immediate, so authorities must take the revised figures into account when determining planning applications and preparing new Local Plans.

"The starting point is local plans, and that's really important for councils to develop the plan according to the target, taking into account local need, and working with developers,” said Prime Minister Keir Starmer last week in defending the changes.

“That’s where it starts. But are we going to push it though if those plans don't work? Yes, yes we absolutely are."

Both Waverley and EHDC are working on new Local Plans while a bid to update the Alton Neighbourhood Plan is also underway. But the changes to the NPPF could make its revision – and suggestions of where the community would like development to take place – even harder to rubber stamp given the previous and ongoing opposition to building on sites like Windmill Hill Field and Neatham Down.

Authorities like WBC have got to get on with it and adjust their Local Plans accordingly, with Cllr Townsend cutting a slightly despondent tone on how the NPPF changes will affect theirs and its progression.

She said: “We now have no choice but to use the standard method housing formula as the starting point for planning for new homes.

“How much of this requirement can be accommodated will depend on what land is suitable and available for development, taking into account the many constraints that exist across Waverley.

“We will ultimately need to demonstrate to an Independent Planning Inspector that we have explored all possible avenues for delivering new homes.

“There is a huge amount of work to do and we will seek input from our communities in 2025 to help to shape the new Local Plan.”