The main feature in the latest edition of the Planning Market Insight Report was provided to us by Emily Williams, Associate Director, Residential Research at Savills.
Recent market drivers
Most people spent much more time at home over the last year than they may have been expecting. As a result, the housing market saw surprising levels of activity as those households with the financial security to do so sought homes that could act as workplaces and schools, as well as places to live. A Savills survey in April 2020 found that buyers were prioritising space to work from home, access to outside space and more rural locations. 49 per cent of respondents mentioned working from home more as a driver for their house move. That figure rose to 52 per cent when we repeated the survey in March 2021, but the popularity of rural locations had fallen slightly.
Read more…
Measures to guarantee fire safety added to PPG
Measures that seek to ensure that fire safety matters are incorporated at the planning stage for high-rise residential developments have been added to Planning Practice Guidance (PPG).
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Apprentice scheme to aid heritage construction starts this week
The Hamish Ogston Foundation and Historic England have announced a £4.325 million programme that seeks to address ‘long-term and severe’ heritage skills shortages in the construction sector.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
New protected areas to be created in England
Natural England has announced that it is considering proposals for new National Nature Reserves and that it will establish new protected areas.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
The Planning Portal Annual Conference 2021 will take place virtually on 15 – 18 November 2021, and you can now book tickets to attend.
Bigger and better than last year!
Following the success of our last event, we are again going to be hosting our conference virtually across four days, but this year it will be even bigger and better!
Read more…Our most recent data shows that compared to May 2020, when the country was just beginning to open up after the first lockdown, the number of planning applications submitted throughout May 2021 has increased across all regions of England and Wales.
For the third month in a row the leading region, in terms of the number of applications submitted, is the North East with a 67 per cent rise from last year.
Read more…Much like proverbial London buses, several key legislative changes from Whitehall are all coming along at once on 1 August 2021.
They will affect a range of application types on the Planning Portal as well as the guidance we provide around common projects, and we are working to update the content on the service to account for them all.
Read on for more details…
Read more…Government promises a ‘nature positive’ future
The UK Government has committed itself to creating a ‘nature positive’ future as part of its response to the Dasgupta Review, which was published in February 2021.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Regeneration masterplan adopted in West Midlands town
Birmingham City Council has adopted a masterplan that is intended to regenerate the town centre of Sutton Coldfield.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Community group awarded cash for NDO
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has awarded Arches Chatham Neighbourhood Forum (ACNF) a sum of £50,000 in funding to go towards the creation of one England’s first neighbourhood development orders (NDO).
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Around 90% of online planning permissions are submitted via the Planning Portal. Our placement in the planning and development industry puts us in a unique position to offer unrivalled insight into proposed development.
Over the last year, we have seen an unprecedented amount of applications submitted. However, over the last couple of months there has been a slight decrease in application numbers. Last month saw fewer applications submitted than the previous month – 63,497 in May 2021, compared to 65,357 in April 2021.
Read more…Government announces cash for Town Deals and a nature programme for Cornwall
Communities secretary Robert Jenrick has announced that 30 towns in England will receive a share of £725 million to help to boost local economies and create jobs.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Alliance seeks to mitigate changing rainfall patterns in Kent woods
The RSPB and ecological consultancy Ecological Planning and Research (EPR) Ltd have teamed up to alleviate the impact of the climate crisis on critical ancient woodland in Kent.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
‘Sporadic funding’ stifling net-zero efforts
A systematic approach to planning, funding and powers is needed to meet net-zero ambitions at the local level, rather than the current ‘sporadic funding’ described as ‘stifling’ in a new report.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
The headlines
For the second month in a row, planning application submission numbers have dropped from the peak we saw in March. A total of 63,497 planning applications submitted throughout May 2021, a three per cent decrease on the previous month.
Compared to May 2020, when the country was starting to recover from the initial lockdown restrictions, there has been an increase of 52 per cent.
The average number of applications submitted per working day in May was 2,710; an increase of 54 per cent daily.
Read more…High Court upholds council’s decision to refuse Ocado’s plans for new depot
The High Court has dismissed online supermarket Ocado’s judicial review claim against Islington Council’s refusal for its application for a 24/7 online grocery distribution centre in Tufnell Park.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Key workers prioritised for flagship First Homes development
The government has announced that discounted homes will be available for local people and key workers as part of the flagship First Homes scheme to be delivered near Bolsover, Derbyshire.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Councils to be enabled to ‘tackle exploitation’ on mobile home sites
Housing and rough sleeping minister Eddie Hughes has set out stricter rules to ‘clamp down’ on the ‘small minority’ of rogue mobile site owners and managers, better protecting mobile home residents in England.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
