Since its election last May, the Coalition Government’s policy announcements regarding planning and development have, for the most part, raised issues of serious concern for the development industry. In particular, the measures in the Localism Bill to abolish regional spatial strategies, in which the development industry had invested significant time and resources to obtain certainty; and to give local authorities responsibility for setting housing numbers.
With legal debate on the former of these still inconclusive and evidence that over 200,000 dwellings have been struck from emerging development plans the ‘Budget and Growth Review’ appears to have provided a balance by setting out “ambitious proposals to ensure the planning system does everything possible to support economic growth and sustainable development, helping to re-build Britain’s economy”.
The measures announced in the ‘Budget and Growth Review’ include the following:
- A new presumption in favour of sustainable development
- A pro-growth national policy planning policy statement
- Changes to permitted development rights to cut red tape
- Immediately prioritising growth and jobs
- Piloting elements of the land auctions model
- Extending neighbourhood planning to businesses
- Removal of targets for ‘brownfield’ development
- Removing bureaucracy from planning applications
- New duty for councils to co-operate on planning issues
- Fast track, democratic system for major infrastructure applications
Whilst several of these elements have been trailed previously, and the devil will be in the detail, there are some positive messages which may begin to provide the certainty necessary for the industry going forward. These include:
- The recognition that one of the biggest barriers to development is the shortage of land available with planning permission to build on and that “Every new home built will create jobs in the UK building industry.”
- The intention to ensure that the default answer to development and growth is “yes” rather than “no”, where proposals conform to key sustainable development principles (draft definition of the presumption in favour will be published for consultation in May 2011)
- The proposals to amend the Use Classes Order to enable vacant and derelict office blocks, warehouses and business parks (B1, B2 and B8 uses) to be changed to housing (C3 uses).
- Maintaining the commitment to have local authorities prepare up-to-date development plans setting out the opportunities for growth and to review S106 contributions where development has stalled.
It would appear that the impact of the ‘Localism’ proposals on growth of the economy have been realised. With the National Planning Framework and Localism Bills due for completion at the end of 2011, it promises to be an interesting year!
Hunter Page Planning Ltd. regularly monitors emerging legislation and its potential impacts on development.