Lord Kerslake, formerly the top civil servant in the Department of Communities and Local Government, told ministers this week that two new key Conservative policies were wrong in principle and practice and threatened to reduce the stock of affordable housing.
Cross-bencher Lord Kerslake, also a one-time chief executive of the Homes and Communities Agency and head of the Home Civil Service during the time of the Coalition, attacked the government’s proposals to extend right to buy to housing associations and to force local authorities to sell off their highest-value properties as they become vacant to pay for the discounts to be offered to tenants.
Lord Kerslake, who is now chairman of social housing provider Peabody Estates, argued that housing association stock could not be considered as government assets for sale as the associations were mainly private and mostly charitable bodies,
In his maiden speech on Tuesday evening Lord Kerslake said: “There is a good case for local authorities being able selectively to sell off some of their high-value properties to reinvest.
“However, a top-down, one-size-fits-all approach is contrary to the spirit of greater devolution and will bring with it unintended consequences. In London, for example, the top third by value of properties will be concentrated in the central London boroughs of Wandsworth, Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea, which stand to lose nearly two-thirds of their stock over time.”
The cross-bencher commented : “There are also real doubts in my mind as to whether the receipts from the sale of high-value local authority properties can simultaneously cover the cost of the discount, the re-provision of new affordable homes and a contribution to the brownfield regeneration fund.”
He added: “At the very least this should be subject to a full independent financial review. Ultimately, the route to more home ownership, which I support passionately, is to build more homes. There is a real risk that these polices will distract from that vital, urgent task.”
During the Lords debate on the Queen’s Speech opposition peers lined up to remind ministers that as well as housing associations the CBI, the Institute of Fiscal Studies, rating agencies and London Mayor and Tory MP Boris Johnson were all critical of the proposals and concerned that housing supply would be adversely affected.
View more information on the Lords debates on the Queen’s Speech
Roger Milne
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has confirmed that the HS2 high-speed rail project as well as investment in new transport infrastructure as part of the Northern Powerhouse initiative is key priorities for the new administration.
In a keynote speech in Leeds he stressed that rolling out a national high-speed rail network – both HS2 and East-to-West links – would be at the centre of the government’s plans.
The HS2 hybrid bill committee will restart Parliamentary scrutiny of the bill for phase one – between London and Birmingham – shortly.
The government will announce the way forward for phase two from Birmingham to Leeds and to Manchester later this year. During this Parliament the government will also make significant strides in getting HS2 to the north sooner and maximising the regeneration benefits.
The Transport Secretary confirmed that legislation would be prepared in this Parliament, looking at bringing HS2 to Crewe faster than planned, subject to further analysis and decisions on the preferred route.
Work will also continue to look at ways of using the HS2 line to introduce faster regional services and at the case for speeding up construction of the Sheffield to Leeds section.
The government will also progress plans to transform east to west rail connectivity with high-speed services linking Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle and Hull, radically reducing travel times, and increasing frequencies.
As well the government is making major improvements to the A1, M62, M1 and A555 and looking at building a road tunnel under the Peak District; building the Northern Hub to transform the rail network across the region; introducing new trains on the East Coast Mainline and adding capacity for 44 million more rail passengers.
In a separate move Manchester Airports Group has announced a decade-long £1bn plan to improve facilities at Manchester Airport which will include the expansion of Terminal 2, self-service check-in facilities and a larger security hall.
The work will also include improvements to Terminal 3 as well as create new food and retail outlets.
View the press release on GOV.UK
Roger Milne
The cities and local government devolution bill has been introduced in the Lords and will have its second reading next week (8 June).
The legislation will pave the way for cities and counties around the country to gain new wide-ranging powers an let combined authorities control transport, housing, strategic planning, health, social care and skills training to boost growth.
Communities Secretary Greg Clark said: “We’re determined to end the hoarding of power in Whitehall and rebalance our economy – unlocking local flair so our cities, towns and counties can reach their full potential and become their own economic powerhouses up and down the country.
He added: “This bill will deliver the historic Greater Manchester devolution agreement and set the wheels in motion for other areas to follow.”
Northern powerhouse minister James Wharton said: “The new powers will give Greater Manchester the reins on decision making over important local priorities, including economic development, local transport, housing, skills and vital public services like health and social care.
“It will also allow for the creation of an elected mayor for the whole of Greater Manchester’s combined authority area. The new mayor would have a range of powers and act as the police and crime commission for the area.”
Responsibility for cities policy has transferred from the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the administration told Parliament on Monday.
There has already been devolution in the form of City Deals, Growth Deals and the more recent devolution agreements between the government and Greater Manchester, Leeds City Region and Sheffield City Region.
View more information on the cities and local government devolution bill
Roger Milne
Shropshire Council has denied media claims that councillor concern over the planning authority’s delegation regime has prompted a review of the committee and delegation procedures.
The council has an adopted scheme of delegation as part of its constitution and currently delegates around 94 per cent of planning applications to officers. This is a figure in line with near neighbour unitary councils and many others nationally, the council claimed.
The local authority has acknowledged that there have been “some complaints about a limited number of schemes recently that have been delegated rather than referred to committee”. However, it insisted that the delegation criteria has been applied in each case.
The council’s planning services operations manager Ian Kilby said: “The important point is that planning committee continues to deal with those applications that are complex or contentious and that will remain the case in the future.”
The council has set up a so-called ‘task and finish’ group to look at the delivery of the planning committee process “to identify what will work best for Shropshire, not as quoted in the Shropshire Star because there had been complaints about the level of delegation,” said Kilby.
To date the task and finish group has met on two occasions. “It will be reviewing the practices of other similar council’s and include stakeholder engagement to determine the best outcome for Shropshire” added Kilby.
Roger Milne
The Welsh Government has started consulting on how its proposed new regime for Developments of National Significance (DNS) will work. In essence this is a Welsh version of the Planning Act 2008 regime for nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs).
The administration’s planning bill introduces the concept and a consultation paper just published is canvassing views on thresholds for proposed schemes, how secondary consents may be submitted for consideration and determined alongside an application for DNS and how pre-application notification, advice and consultation will be undertaken.
Under the proposed new regime Welsh ministers will determine proposals at or above a specific threshold for various categories of infrastructure development, many of which are energy- based.
Listed are gas storage and terminal projects, new airports, new rail links, rail freight interchanges, new dams and reservoirs, major new pipelines, wastewater treatment plants, hazardous waste facilities, water transfer schemes and power plants.
Currently the proposal covers plants of between 25 and 50 megawatts in capacity. In future this threshold will increase to 350 megawatts, once other legislation is passed.
Angus Walker, Bircham Dyson Bell’s infrastructure guru pointed out: “Although the DNS system mirrors the Planning Act regime, note that it is still technically a grant of planning permission, whereas development consent under the Planning Act 2008 is different to and instead of planning permission.
“This means that it has to work within the conventional town and country planning regime rather than start from scratch, so can never be as comprehensive as the 2008 Act.
“It is intended to be a one-stop shop, as far as possible, and a list of 15 ‘secondary consents’ that can be applied for at the same time as the main DNS consent is proposed.
“Again, these consents cannot legally be dispensed with, so the regime does what it can to make it appear to be a single process from the outside. Compulsory purchase is in the list but only for the purposes of regeneration, which may be a problem.”
View the Developments of National Significance consultation
Roger Milne
Research into planning department cuts and economic development
The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has commissioned major new research into whether cuts to planning departments are undermining economic recovery across the North West region.
This is the first time, since budget cuts took place in 2010, that any study has looked at links between development investment, economic growth, housing delivery and the resourcing of planning.
The research will be carried out by Arup, the global engineering, design and planning consultancy.
Arup will be inviting every local planning authority in the region to participate in a survey over the coming weeks. Findings are due to be published at the end of September 2015.
Joanne Harding, chair of RTPI North West region, said: “The study is very timely with the new Government announcing plans for a Northern Powerhouse to redress the North-South economic imbalance, and to attract investment into northern cities and towns.
“Arup will aim to quantify the impact of development pressures on public sector planning resources across the region and the consequences for the regional economy if this is not addressed.”
View the press release on the RTPI website
Energy Secretary won’t determine controversial gas storage project
The Department of Energy and Climate Change has confirmed that Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth, its minister in the Upper House, will be handling the redetermination of development consent for Halite Energy’s proposed underground gas storage scheme earmarked for land near Wyre on the Lancashire coast.
Last year the energy company mounted a successful High Court challenge over the decision by the then Climate Change Minister Greg Barker to refuse the project despite planning inspector’s having recommended that the project should get the go-ahead. Lord Bourne is the new minister overseeing planning issues in the department.
The department has played down speculation that the reason Bourne rather than Energy Secretary Amber Rudd is dealing with the redetermination of the scheme is because of a possible conflict of interest. Rudd’s brother Roland is chairman of the lobbying group Finsbury which works for Halite Energy.
More information on the project can be found on the Halite Energy Group website
Oxfordshire arsonist sectioned as trial ends
The man who admitted causing the fires which resulted in major damage to the joint planning office operated by South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils has been detained indefinitely in a secure mental health unit.
47-year old Andrew Main had admitted setting fires but pleaded not guilty to a charge of arson with intent to endanger life.
When the resumed case was considered at Oxford Crown Court last Friday the prosecution decided not to proceed to trial with the charge at Oxford Crown Court, and it will lie on file.
The estimated cost to the councils of repairing damage from the fires on 15 January was about £20m, the court heard.
Sentencing, Judge Ian Pringle said: “We will never know why you picked on the targets you did, but we will always know that the consequences were utterly, utterly devastating.”
It was revealed in court Main had mental health issues, most likely a severe bi-polar disorder.
The court was told he intended to kill himself after setting the fires.
The councils’ joint planning department is due to relocate to new offices near Didcot, Oxfordshire, by the end of this month.
London round-up
- London Mayor Boris Johnson has published Draft Interim Housing Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) for public consultation. The draft Housing SPG provides revised guidance on how to implement the housing policies in the London Plan. Proposed revisions take account of the Further Alterations to the London Plan, which was published by the Mayor in March.
In addition, the draft guidance shows how London’s standards will be affected by the introduction of the Government’s new national technical standards and provides clarity on what standards apply in the transition period before the adoption of the Minor Alterations to the London Plan (MALP). Other proposed revisions to the SPG have been made to reflect updated evidence, mayoral strategies and national guidance.
View the Draft interim Housing Supplementary Guidance - Croydon Council’s planning chief Mike Kiely is set to leave the South London Local Authority to set up his own planning consultancy.
- Developer Eco World Ballymore has launched the second phase of its London City Island ‘mini-Manhattan’ scheme at Canning Town in East London which makes provision for over 400 new flats, rehearsal facilities for the English National Ballet, shops, restaurants and an arts club.
View more information about the London City Island - Changes in the law have kicked-in which remove planning restrictions on short-term lets in the capital.
Legal round-up
- Islington and Camden councils have applied for a judicial review of London Mayor Boris Johnson’s planning approval for the redevelopment of the Royal Mail’s Mount Pleasant site near Farringdon Station. The action is being taken on the grounds that the Mayor failed to secure the maximum affordable housing and did not fulfill the requirements of policy and fair process when he assessed the scheme’s viability.
- A landlord and his planning agent who tried to deceive Brent Council and the Planning Inspectorate by submitting forged tenancy agreements in support of a planning application in north-west London have been fined thousands of pounds by Willesden Magistrates’ Court.
- Last week Belfast High Court was told that Northern Ireland Environment Minister Mark H Durkan had no authority to approve the Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan on his own.
- Westminster City Council has won a challenge in the Court of Appeal to an inspector’s decision to quash a planning enforcement notice.
View the appeal
CIL delays Berkshire homes
Proposals for a 550-home development at Binfield, Berkshire have been approved after being reconsidered by the planning committee of Bracknell Forest District Council. The council has now adopted a Community Infrastructure Levy tariff which was not in place when the scheme was originally supported, subject to completion of a s106 agreement.
London council plans ‘direct action’ enforcement
Redbridge Council is proposing to trial a system involving direct action linked to enforcement procedures, which could mean speedy demolition of unlawful structures.
The planning authority is consulting on its proposals and aims to trial them this autumn. The option of direct action will be used alongside prosecution and/or injunctions to stop lengthy negotiations and to resolve planning breaches, the east London local authority explained.
This means that the council will be able to deal more effectively with planning breaches such as substandard, poor quality housing.
View the press release on Redbridge Council’s website
Basement bill introduced in the Lords
A bill to curb planning permission for subterranean development where certain conditions apply has been introduced into Parliament by Lord Dubs, the former Battersea Labour MP.
View more information about the planning (subterranean development) bill
Consent order for Norwich bypass
Norwich’s northern bypass has been granted development consent by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin.
The Northern Distributor Road (NDR) is planned to run from Postwick on the A47 and go around the east and north of the city, to connect with the A1067. The 20-kilometre dual carriageway will cost about £148m.
View more information about the NDR on the Norfolk County Council website
New target for release of surplus public land for homes
Communities Secretary Greg Clark has urged Whitehall departments and local authorities to redouble their efforts to release surplus publicly-owned land and property for new residential development.
His call came as he and fellow ministers announced a new target to release sufficient public land for the building of 150,000 new homes by 2020.
Over the past five years enough public land was released to allow for 103,000 new homes, the Department for Communities and local Government has revealed.
View the press release on GOV.UK
Cross Border power line project
Scottish Power Energy Networks has unveiled proposals to modernise the overhead power line network stretching from Ayrshire across Dumfries and Galloway and into Cumbria.
The energy transmission company says it needs to replace much of the ageing system with a new higher voltage line.
It has published its preliminary thinking on the route corridor for a new 400kV power line between Auchencrosh in South Ayrshire and Harker across the border in Cumbria which would replace the existing 132kV link which is now at the end of its operational life.
Publication of the proposed route comes in advance of public consultation on the details of the scheme.
View more information on the project
Hull threat underlines climate change risks says TCPA
The threat of coastal cities like Hull being wiped off the map is a real one, according to environmental charity the Town and Country Planning Association. The TCPA fears coastal erosion and rising sea levels are not being taken seriously enough by the government.
Dr Hugh Ellis, head of policy at the TCPA told the Hay Festival that sea levels could be at least a metre higher by the year 2100. “We need to be thinking, does Hull have a future?” said Dr Ellis.
View more information about the Hay Festival
Roger Milne
Although there was no stand-alone planning bill promised in this week’s Queen’s Speech there is plenty to exercise planners and planning authorities in the new government’s first legislative programme.
As expected there will be both a Housing Bill and a Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill.
Controversially the former will require housing associations to allow tenants to buy their homes as well as providing the statutory framework to support the delivery of 200,000 Starter Homes on brownfield sites.
Also in the Housing Bill will be provision for a statutory register of brownfield land, measures to simplify and speed up neighbourhood planning and a requirement for local authorities to support custom and self-builders as part of the administration’s Right to Build initiative.
In respect of the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill, ministers will provide the legislative muscle to deliver the pioneering Greater Manchester deal and future ones – both in large cities which choose to have elected mayors and in other places.
Also promised are more measures to expand the existing programme of Growth Deals. A proposed Bus Bill would provide the option for combined authority areas with directly-elected mayors to be responsible for the running of their local bus services.
The administration’s Energy Bill will remove the need for energy secretary consent for large onshore wind farms above 50 megawatts.
This will put local planning authorities back in the driving seat. The National Planning Policy Framework will be changed to give effect to the manifesto commitment that local communities should have the final say on planning applications for onshore wind farms.
Also listed in the Queen’s Speech is a High-Speed (London-West Midlands) Bill which would give the government deemed planning permission for the new high-speed rail link between London and the West Midlands. This includes CPO powers.
A Wales Bill would devolve powers to Welsh Ministers for the consenting of energy schemes both onshore and offshore of up to 350 megawatts capacity.
PM David Cameron called the legislative programme of more than 25 bills “challenging but doable; optimistic but realistic”.
Access GOV.uk’s dedicated section on the Queen’s Speech.
Roger Milne
Official statistics released this week show that 40,340 new homes were started in England during the first three months of this year, the highest quarterly number since 2007.
The figures show that the momentum from 2014, which saw 137,310 new homes started, up 10 per cent on 2013 and 60 per cent from the low point in 2009, appears to be gathering speed.
The figures also indicated that seasonally adjusted house building starts in England were estimated at 40,300 in the first quarter of 2015, a 31 per cent increase compared to the previous quarter.
The seasonally adjusted level of starts in the March quarter 2015 increased by 11 per cent on the same period a year earlier.
Seasonally adjusted completions were estimated at 34,040 in Q1 2015, 10 per cent higher than the previous quarter. The seasonally adjusted level of completions in the first three months of this year increased by 21 per cent on the same quarter a year earlier.
Private enterprise housing starts (seasonally adjusted) were 30 per cent higher in Q1 2015 than the previous quarter, while starts by housing associations were 36 per cent higher.
Seasonally adjusted private enterprise completions increased by seven per cent and housing association completions increased by 24 per cent compared the previous quarter.
Housing and planning minister Brandon Lewis said: “House building is at the heart of our plan to ensure the recovery reaches all parts of our country.
“These figures show these efforts are reaping results, with house building starts having more than doubled since 2009, and completions at their highest for nearly six years.”
View the release document (PDF, 1.39MB).
Roger Milne
An outline planning application has been submitted to Wiltshire Council by Ashton Park Trowbridge and Persimmon Homes for a mixed-use urban extension including 2,500 homes in south-east Trowbridge.
The Ashton Park Urban Extension application, which also includes proposals for the Yarnbrook and West Ashton Relief Road, is supported by a master plan which was the subject of consultation with the local community in 2013/2014 while the Wiltshire core strategy was at an advanced stage of preparation.
The core strategy was adopted in January and the council secured government funding to contribute to the costs of the road.
Ashton Park is a key strategic allocation in the core strategy and is fundamental to delivering the council’s housing and employment requirements over the next 10 years.
The application provides for 2,500 new homes and 15 hectares of employment and retail activity, including a business park and two local centres.
Sites for a new secondary school and two primary schools are among the community facilities proposed. The proposals include an extensive network of open spaces linking to the Peoples Park and town centre.
A spokesman for the developers said: “We look forward to working with the council and interested parties to secure an early planning permission so that the development can come forward in a planned manner and generate further investment into Trowbridge as well as improving the strategic highway network along the A350.”
View further information about the proposed development on the Wiltshire Council website
Roger Milne
Many of England’s top wildlife sites are under threat from pollution, inappropriate grazing (particularly by deer) and the impact of invasive species.
That’s the assessment of a report just published as part of Natural England’s project to establish the long-term management of the country’s 338 Natura 2000 sites. These include Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs). Most are also Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
The initiative, known as the improvement programme for England’s Natura 2000 sites (IPENS) project, sets out a blueprint for the long-term management of these designated sites.
They include some of the country’s most familiar landscapes including the Northumberland coast, the New Forest, the Norfolk Broads and Salisbury Plain.
There are 338 Natura 2000 sites in England, in both marine and terrestrial locations, covering more than two million hectares.
A site improvement plan has been produced covering every site. The plans present the best available evidence in support of actions required to achieve and maintain sites in a good condition. More than 6,000 specific actions have been identified in the individual plans.
These include the need to draw up local plans to improve habitat connectivity, more adaptive coastal management and a programme of both lake and river restoration.
Dr Andy Clements, Natural England board member and director of the British Trust for Ornithology, said: “England has a diverse range of habitats resulting in a wonderfully rich and varied wildlife. The IPENS project has enabled Natural England, the Environment Agency and other partners to more effectively target our conservation efforts on Natura 2000 network sites and surrounding areas.”
Roger Milne
Planning Portal Blog 