Latest housing stats
Latest official figures show that the number of planning permissions for homes rose six per cent compared to the same quarter a year ago.
The number of major applications being processed swiftly by local authorities is also at an all-time high with a record 81 per cent decided within the required time.
The number of planning permissions granted for homes in 2015 was the highest since 2007.
According to analysis of Glenigan data also published this week permission was granted for 253,000 homes during 2015.
Government figures show that as well as rising numbers of planning permissions for homes, the number of permissions granted overall between October and December 2015 was four per cent greater than a year earlier, with councils granting 92,000 decisions.
Some 10,100 applications for prior approval for permitted development rights were received during October to December 2015, up 16 per cent from the same quarter 12 months ago.
New planning regime for key Welsh infrastructure schemes
New Welsh legislation came into force last week designed to ensure that key infrastructure projects are determined at the national level and are made directly to ministers rather than the local planning authority.
The Planning (Wales) Act together with secondary legislation establishes a new process for the consenting of so-called Developments of National Significance (DNS).
This process is designed to ensure timely decision-making, particularly on renewable energy projects as well as other nationally significant developments in Wales.
Planning and natural resources minister Carl Sargeant said: “The DNS projects include energy projects with a generating capacity of between 10 and 50 megawatts, airports, railway infrastructure, dams and reservoirs, and other types of development requiring planning permission which are considered to be of national significance.
“I’m also planning to expand the thresholds to capture all onshore wind projects above 10 megawatts.”
Community assets progress
The Community Rights movement continues to make progress with latest figures showing more than 3,000 buildings, green spaces and other valued local assets protected.
More than 3,000 assets are now listed including 1,200 pubs, over 150 local sporting facilities, including football stadiums, bowling greens and cricket pavilions, right through to Blencathra, one of the Lake District’s best-known peaks.
To promote the programme, the government has produced an interactive map listing protected assets and other community rights uses throughout the country.
NIC bangs drum for smart power
The National Infrastructure Commission has concluded that so-called ‘smart power’ involving increased connectivity, energy storage and more flexible demand flexibility could help the UK meet its 2050 carbon targets and secure the UK’s energy supply for generations.
That’s the assessment of the Commission which has published its first report urging the government to pursue additional interconnectors with other European countries. The commission has also argued that the UK should become a world leader in electricity storage systems.
Go-ahead for Manchester airport expansion
Manchester City Council has approved ambitious proposals for a 15-year upgrade of Manchester Airport involving the demolition of Terminal 1, and a 900,000-square-foot extension to Terminal 2.
The ‘Airport Transformation Programme’ is designed to increase the airport’s capacity from 20 million to 30 million annual passengers by 2025.
This will mean the expansion and reconfiguration of Terminal 2 to become the airport’s main terminal building, along with further improvements of Terminal 3 to cater for increased demand and an expanding flight schedule.
As well there will be new stands and piers, an improved surface access road system and significant additional car-parking.
Think tank urges ministers to face-down Nimbys
Right of centre think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs has urged the government to solve the housing crisis by removing restrictions on development in the green belt and face-down opposition from Nimby groups. The think tank has also made the case for replacing the council tax with a local Land Value Tax
The Institute argued that government interventions such as the Help to buy scheme, changes to inheritance tax and higher tax for buy-to-let landlords were all steps in the wrong direction.
The think tank said that boosting homeownership should not be a policy aim in its own right as this failed to address the overall lack of supply.
It concluded that what was needed was improving affordability across the spectrum of different housing types.
Seaside boost
Clevedon Pier, the UK’s only Grade 1 listed pier is one of eight projects to receive a cash boost to create jobs and training places, and help seaside towns attract visitors all-year round, Communities Minister Mark Francois has announced.
The schemes are to receive a share of an additional £800,000 from the government’s Coastal Communities Fund.
The projects are to be given the extra funding to help continue work that will create jobs, attract investment and boost the local economy.
HCA review
The Department of Communities and Local Government has issued its call for evidence as its review of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), the national housing, land and regeneration agency, gathers pace.
The DCLG is particularly interested in the following:
- Are the purpose and priorities of the HCA correct for the future?
- How effectively does the HCA carry out its functions and how could it do so more effectively to meet future challenges?
- How effectively does the HCA work with customers and partners?
- What skills does the HCA require for the future and does it possess these?
- How successful is the HCA is in delivering its objectives and could it improve?
Business regulation probe
Business Secretary Sajid Javid has launched a review of the way local authorities regulate businesses. This exercise will take into account “burdens imposed by planning and building control, housing regulations, food safety, standards and hygiene, environmental protection and health and safety amongst others.”
The administration said it would seek evidence on everything “from how inspections and visits are conducted and how data is requested through to guidance, advice and how accountable and responsive local authorities are to business needs”. The scope of the review will not include fees and charges, however.
Hull developments
Plans for a state-of-the-art 3,500-seater music and events centre and the redevelopment of Hull’s historic Beverley Gate have been given the go-ahead by councillors.
Hull City Council’s planning committee have approved plans for the ‘Hull Venue’ this will include a 3,500 capacity concert auditorium with the flexibility to reduce to a 2,500 all-seated event and exhibition space plus 800 capacity conference auditorium.
The council has committed £36.2m towards the cost of building the complex on the site behind Princes Quay shopping centre and this investment will also modernise Osborne Street car park.
Developers Avant Homes have dropped plans to contest the affordable housing contribution of £1.8 million required under the s106 agreement negotiated with Sheffield City Council as part of the approval for an 88-home development at a former factory site in green belt on the edge of the city.
The developer remains convinced that its consented proposals won’t be viable on the basis of that s106 contribution and has told the planning authority it wants to develop an alternative scheme for the site which is acceptable in planning terms “and viable”. Officers have agreed to work with the developer “to secure an appropriate and acceptable redevelopment scheme for the site”.
London round-up
- London’s firms want the capital’s next Mayor to commit to building 50,000 homes a year, press the government to build a new runway in the South East and to continue to implement the existing 2050 London Infrastructure Plan. As well the CBI’s London Manifesto for the mayoral candidates has called for a stronger voice for businesses on the London Enterprise Partnership (LEP). Meanwhile a London Assembly report has urged the next mayor to ensure Business Improvement Districts play a bigger role in regeneration although it also stressed they needed stronger governance and accountability.
- Amsterdam-style “pop-up” housing could cut the cost of London’s rental market by a third, a report from the London Conservatives has claimed.
- Kingston Council has refused permission for the 705-home redevelopment of the Toby Jug site at Tolworth on the south western flank of London against the advice of officials.
Maidenhead make-over
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead has launched a consultation on its draft West Street Opportunity Area Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) which sets out proposed planning guidance for the redevelopment of one of the town’s key development sites.
Plans for the redevelopment of the area include new office and retail floor space and over 300 new homes as well as restaurants and a landmark building to create a gateway to the town centre.
Lake District Unesco bid
The Lake District is the sole UK nomination by the government for UNESCO World Heritage site status.
Oxfordshire affordable homes waiver agreed
A planning inspector has backed an appeal by a developer who successfully argued that the Vale of White Horse District Council’s requirement to provide 40 per cent affordable homes in a 200-unit scheme at Faringdon, Oxfordshire should be waived in its entirety if the proposals were to climb off the drawing board.
View the planning application details
Scottish Civic crisis claimed
Scotland is facing a crisis of civic pride, trust and identity according to Professor Cliff Hague, a planning academic from Heriot- Watt University.
He delivered the Scottish Civic Trust’s inaugural annual lecture last week and blamed the crises on a number of factors. These included the fiscal neutering of local government, a centralised planning regime, an unaccountable appeals system, the growing privatisation of the public realm and a heritage movement whose voice was becoming fainter because of an ageing demographic.
Hague also warned of a loss of confidence in the conservation movement and highlighted what he called a “shadow planning system where developers operate through privileged channels and faceless investment houses have more right to decide what should happen in places than the citizens (now third parties) who live in them.”
View a transcript of the lecture (PDF)
Legal round-up
- Forest of Dean District Council has successfully challenged a planning inspector’s decision to allow an appeal for an 85-home scheme proposed by Gladman Developments. The permission has now been quashed following a judgment which is seen as providing an important ruling on the tests to be applied in respect of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
- The Scottish Court of Session has dismissed a challenge by the developers of the 114 megawatt Glenmorie wind farm over the government’s decision to reject the 34-turbine scheme earmarked for a site in the Highlands.
- Four conservative local authorities are threatening to take legal action against the government unless the proposed third runway at Heathrow is ruled out. The councils claim that expansion of the airport in line with the recommendations of the independent Airports Commission would be illegal. Solicitors acting on behalf of Hillingdon, Richmond, Wandsworth and Windsor and Maidenhead councils claimed the outcome of the study was based on a flawed assessment of the impacts on air quality and noise.
- A judicial review of Westerleigh Group’s consent for a crematorium scheme in the Watermead area of Aylesbury, the subject of a challenge by the parish council, has found in favour of the proposals approved by the local planning authority, Aylesbury Vale District Council.
- A developer who lost a £150m contract to revamp Winchester city centre is set to challenge the decision in court.
Roger Milne
February had the largest number of applications ever with 46,874 applications – an increase of 16.4 per cent on February 2015.
The workday average was 2,073 apps per day, up 10.9 per cent from February 2015, a healthy increase.
If this trend continues we may see over 50,000 applications submitted in March, even with an early Easter popping in at the end of the month.
I’ll keep you updated.
Peers from across the political spectrum queued up to voice concern over the government’s policy on starter homes this week during detailed discussion on the Housing and Planning Bill. Ministers promised clarity soon on how the policy will be implemented.
Contributors to five hours of debate on Tuesday warned that the administration’s starter homes initiative would crowd out other forms of housing tenure and hamstring local authorities’ ability to provide for locally determined housing need.
Councils’ ability to choose a mix of home ownership tenures for planning obligations (i.e. shared-ownership or rent-to-buy) was completely fettered by the bill as drafted, complained Liberal Democrat peer Lord Tope.
Cross-bencher Lord Kerslake, former permanent secretary at the Department for Communities and Local Government, noted that the starter home concept had gone from being an “interesting, innovative idea with some rather ambitious numbers attached to it to being the main source of new supply”.
Peers lined up to claim starter homes would be unaffordable for the majority of the population and risked distorting the housing market. The Upper Chamber heard that civil servants have so far been unable to finalise any sort of modeling on the effect of the legislation— financial, social or the impact on housing supply.
Baroness Hollis of Heigham warned : “For the whole of the next decade, if the government have their way, the affordable housing programme for those in the greatest need, who have least leverage in the market, whose need is highest, will have just one option, starter homes—which, we are told by Savills, will not benefit 90 per cent of them. What on earth do the government think they are doing?”
Government Minister Baroness Williams of Trafford denied the administration’s focus on starter homes was intended to be at the expense of affordable housing.
“The government is committed to investing further in the delivery of affordable houses and local authorities will still be expected to plan their housing development around the needs of their communities.
“However, our manifesto was clear that we would build 200,000 starter homes and this is central to our housing ambitions.”
She promised clarification soon on clause 4 of the bill which provides for a starter home requirement for new developments.
“We will publish details in a technical consultation shortly and will take into consideration all views so that we get this right. We want a degree of flexibility with the requirement to allow for exemptions and viability considerations.
“Once in place, local planning authorities will need to apply their plan policies including those on affordable housing in light of the legal starter homes requirement. We expect them to seek other forms of affordable housing, such as social rent, alongside the starter homes requirement where it would be viable to do so.”
She added: “Local planning authorities have the option to release more land for housing to ensure they are delivering as much housing of all tenures as is needed”.
Roger Milne
The head of NHS England this week named 10 new settlements which will be test-beds for so-called ‘healthy new towns’.
The new towns will pilot innovative ways of dealing with health care challenges of the 21st century like obesity, dementia and community cohesion. This initiative is supported by Public Health England.
The programme will cover new communities across England and cover projects totaling more than 76,000 new homes and potentially approximately 170,000 residents.
The NHS will help shape the way these new sites develop by bringing together clinicians, designers and technology experts to reimagine how healthcare can be delivered in these places, to showcase what’s possible by joining up design of the built environment with modern health and care services, and to deploy new models of technology-enabled primary care.
NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens said : ”As these new neighbourhoods and towns are built, we’ll kick ourselves if in 10 years time we look back having missed the opportunity to ’design out’ the obesogenic environment, and ‘design in’ health and wellbeing.
“We want children to have places where they want to play with friends and can safely walk or cycle to school – rather than just exercising their fingers on video games.
We want to see neighbourhoods and adaptable home designs that make it easier for older people to continue to live independently wherever possible. And we want new ways of providing new types of digitally-enabled local health services that share physical infrastructure and staff with schools and community groups.”
The first 10 sites chosen are:
- Barking Riverside
- Barton Park, Oxford
- Bicester, Oxon
- Cranbrook, Devon
- Darlington
- Ebbsfleet Garden City, Kent
- Halton Lea, Runcorn
- Northstowe, Cambridgeshire
- Whitehill and Bordon, Hampshire
- Whyndyke Farm in Fylde, Lancashire
Options to be tested at some of these sites include fast food-free zones near schools, designing safe and appealing green spaces, building dementia-friendly streets and ensuring people can access new GP services using digital technology.
Professor Kevin Fenton, national director for health and wellbeing at Public Health England, said: “Some of the UK’s most pressing health challenges – such as obesity, mental health issues, physical inactivity and the needs of an ageing population – can all be influenced by the quality of our built and natural environment. The considerate design of spaces and places is critical to promote good health.”
Read more information about the towns
Roger Milne
The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has successfully appealed refusal of its outline application for a 1,000-home sustainable urban extension on land south of Brackmills, Hardingstone which had been refused by Northampton Borough Council against the advice of its head of planning.
The agency had been actively promoting the site for residential development since 2005. It was allocated for housing under the adopted joint core strategy. The scheme included plans for a local centre, a two-form entry primary school, a medical centre, a pharmacy and infrastructure improvements as well as green infrastructure.
The appeal was recovered for determination by the Communities Secretary Greg Clark. The inspector who held the public inquiry recommended the appeal should be allowed and Clark agreed.
The Communities Secretary acknowledged that the proposals would inevitably involve a major change to the landscape and appearance of the area. He noted that the council was unable to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply in the Northampton Related Development Area. Clark also highlighted that the scheme would make a significant contribution to local affordable housing need (at 24 per cent).
Overall, Clark concluded that the proposal represented a sustainable form of development which would accord with the development plan and the National Planning Policy Framework. He insisted that the adverse effects would not outweigh the benefits.
The Commons Select Committee considering the hybrid bill for the HS2 project has completed its work having notched up 160 days of sittings over nearly two years and dealt with nearly 1,600 petitions.
At issue was the detail of the scheme between London and the West Midlands but not the principle of the proposed new rail link.
The all-party committee recommendations included:
- A longer Chilterns bored tunnel with a north portal at South Heath
- Greater noise protection for Wendover
- Better construction arrangements in Hillingdon
- A remodelled maintenance depot at Washwood Heath to maximise local job opportunities Amendments to the operation of the discretionary compensation schemes with a view toward greater fairness and a more functional property market in areas near to the proposed line.
The committee has also urged changes to the hybrid bill process. The MPs complained that many of the current petitioning procedures and hearing arrangements were inherited from previous eras and were no longer fit for purpose.
The committee said: “We do not believe that spending nearly two years on this process is sensible or sustainable in terms of recruitment of future hybrid bill committee members. Nor is it necessary or indeed helpful to petitioners.”
The MPs added: “There should be less petitioning, with more focus on serious detriment. There is simply far too much repetition of the same issues before the committee.”
Download the full report (4MB PDF)
Roger Milne
A new Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) study has highlighted that 10 of the UK’s top 12 struggling cities are based in the north and risk being left behind by the attempts to boost economic growth and create prosperity in the north. No city in the south featured in the top 12 or 24 of the index.
The study analysed the fortunes of 74 cities with populations over 100,000 people. The resulting index is based on such factors changes in employment rates, levels of highly-qualified workers, the number and type of full-time jobs, net migration rates and population change.
The report noted that three of the top 12 struggling places (Rochdale, Bolton and Wigan) are located in Greater Manchester, where substantial powers and resources have been devolved.
The top struggling cities were identified as:
- Blackburn
- Blackpool
- Bolton
- Bradford
- Burnley
- Dundee
- Hull
- Grimsby
- Middlesbrough
- Rochdale
- Stoke
- Wigan
So far, the Northern Powerhouse and devolution agenda has focused on the core cities, the biggest cities in the country, with devolution deals already signed for areas such as Greater Manchester and Sheffield city region. But the report demonstrates that for wider prosperity and rebalancing, areas outside the biggest cities must also share in the benefits of investment and devolution.
Researchers at Newcastle University found that growth in many northern cities was lagging significantly behind national levels.
For instance, cities in the south have seen a much stronger growth in full-time equivalent job creation, which benefitted places such as Exeter and Milton Keynes, while the likes of Burnley and Stoke struggled.
The research said that economic growth alone will not necessarily reduce poverty in cities, so comprehensive and integrated packages of long-term policies around economic development, employment and skills and infrastructure were required.
Meanwhile, in a separate but related development global infrastructure firm AECOM has insisted that northern cities must ensure their planning structures are better prepared to attract foreign direct investment to fund the Northern Powerhouse.
Roger Milne
Housing starts and completions on the up
Latest official statistics on housing starts and completions show a seven-year high. Figures published by the Department for Communities and Local Government for the last quarter of 2015 showed:
- The number of starts was up 23 per cent on same quarter a year earlier
- Completions up 21 per cent over the last year and
- More than 143,500 new build homes were started in 2015 – nearly double the low point of 2009.
Meanwhile, figures compiled for the Home Builders Federation (HBF) showed that planning permissions were up 12 per cent on same quarter last year.
The department pointed to strong regional growth with Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire experiencing high levels of starts along with areas in North Oxfordshire and the Thames estuary.
Figures released last week by the HBF showed that planning permissions for 59,875 homes were granted in England during the third quarter of last year, an increase from 53,409 permissions in the corresponding quarter the previous year. Some 242, 819 permissions were granted in the 12 months to October. That was the highest ‘moving annual’ total since early 2008.
Council concern over starter homes policy
Local councils, of all political parties, have agreed that the government’s starter homes policy will hinder rather than help to tackle the growing need for genuinely affordable housing in England.
Nearly 80 per cent of local authorities think that starter homes should not be classified as affordable housing while only seven per cent of councils think they will address the need for affordable housing in their local authority areas. Some 53 per cent of respondents were conservative-controlled councils.
Those findings were highlighted in a survey of local government compiled by the Town and Country Planning Association and the Association for Public Sector Excellence (APSE).
The poll found that over two thirds of councils anticipate that they will be building less social and affordable housing as a result of the government’s plans to reduce social rents by one per cent a year and for the next four years.
Over 90 per cent of councils described their need for affordable homes as severe or moderate, nine out of 10 councils were concerned that the extension of the Right to Buy to housing association tenants will mean that there will be less socially-rented homes.
CBI wish-list for infrastructure
The National Infrastructure Commission needs teeth, mustn’t be waylaid by politics and should focus on long term planning in eight key areas. That is the view of business group the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
According to a CBI paper priorities should include:
- Delivering a secure, diverse low-carbon energy supply
- Preparing for the roll-out of 5G mobile connectivity
- Ensuring the impact of climate change is factored in when planning water supplies and flood defences and
- Devising creative solutions to meet the future growing demand on the UK’s roads, rails and ports.
Rhian Kelly, CBI business environment director, said: “It’s vital the Commission is not blown off course by politics. This independent body must be given strong teeth by politicians so that it can recommend significant infrastructure decisions, like building a new runway in the South East, are made for the future benefit of all.”
View the press release and download the paper
Oxfordshire carve-up proposed as part of devolution deal
Five local authority leaders in Oxfordshire have proposed the abolition of the county council as part of an ambitious devolution deal for the sub-region which would mean the creation of a new combined authority. Such a move would involve significant changes for public services in Oxfordshire and include neighbouring Cotswold District Council and South Northamptonshire Council.
Under this plan the county council functions would transfer to four new local unitary councils working together in partnership with the National Health Service, Police and the Local Enterprise Partnerships.
The option now under consideration would create four new local entities:
- A new southern Oxfordshire Unitary Authority would cover the area currently administered by Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire District Councils
- An Oxford City Unitary Authority
- A West Oxfordshire-Cotswold Unitary Authority covering the area currently administered by West Oxfordshire District Council and Cotswold District Council and
- A Cherwell-South Northants Unitary Authority covering the area currently administered by Cherwell District Council and South Northamptonshire Council.
Durham clamp-down on student housing
Durham County Council has confirmed it will introduce an Article 4 Direction which will remove permitted development rights in respect of the conversion of homes into small houses in multiple occupation (HMO).
As a result family homes in the central art of the city will no longer be able to be turned into student accommodation without the need for planning permission.
The local authority has been consulting on the initiative and has announced that the new regime could also apply to the Framwellgate Moor area on the outskirts of the city.
Cornish quarry re-think
Shire Oak Quarries Limited has withdrawn a planning application to support the full reopening of Dean Quarry near St Keverne in Cornwall. Stone from the quarry was destined for the proposed Swansea Bay tidal lagoon project.
Cornwall Council approved the proposals last year but this was quashed after a High Court judge ruled that the planning authority should have required an environmental impact assessment.
A spokesman for Shire Oak Quarries said: “We have now considered the implications of the court decision and decided to withdraw the application. We intend to address the matters held in the judgment and to re-submit a further application in due course.”
Energy moves
- Scottish Power has unveiled plans to more than double the capacity of its 440 megawatt Ben Cruachan pumped storage hydro project in Argyll.
- Swindon residents have been offered the opportunity to buy so-called solar bonds which will be invested in a five MW community solar power project approved by the borough council which has ambitious plans to install 200 MW of renewable capacity by 2020, enough to meet the energy needs of every home in the Wiltshire town.
- Proposals for what would be the largest solar power farm in Wales have been submitted by Countryside Renewables for an 89 hectare site on agricultural land at Llanbadrig, Anglesey.
- Law firm Herbert Smith Freehills advised energy firm Cuadrilla Resources on its successful appeal over Lancashire County Council’s refusal of planning permission for proposed monitoring and site restoration works at its Grange Hill shale exploration site near Singleton, Lancashire. This is the first appeal success for a shale exploration site following the Government’s Shale Gas and Oil Policy Statement of last year. The appeal was determined by a planning Inspector on behalf of the Secretary of State, The proposals do not involve fracking.
Cheltenham tightens consent times
Cheltenham Borough Council’s planning committee has voted unanimously to reduce the period given for planning consents from five to three years. This took effect from 1 March.
The council argued there was no longer any justification for giving a longer period for implementing permissions because monitoring had shown that approvals were not being translated into development on the ground.
Councillor Andrew McKinlay, cabinet member for development, said: “From 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2015 the total number of dwellings granted planning permission was 2,339, however the total number of dwellings completed during the same timeframe has been 1,031; this shows that only 44 per cent of dwellings granted permission during that time have been delivered” he said.
Forest of Dean planning audit
Forest of Dean District Council has agreed to an external review of its planning services this month. This four-day exercise will involve the Local Government Association, the Planning Advisory Service (PAS) and a peer challenge team of elected members and senior planning officers from other authorities.
The team will assess how well the Gloucestershire authority is delivering its overall priorities and how both officers and members are managing the planning development process. They will also canvass the views of those using the service.
Neighbourhood plans progress
Another slew of neighbourhood plans won local backing following referendums held last week. These included two for Little Aston and Stonall – in Staffordshire (Lichfield DC); one for Morpeth in Northumberland; one for the Old Market area of Bristol and one in Southampton (Bassett).
Princes Foundation launches BIMBY toolkit for homes planning
Residents in Norwich have been the first community to take advantage of an innovative online toolkit produced by the Prince’s Foundation. The BIMBY (beauty-in-my backyard) toolkit is a series of workshops that helps a community create a housing manual for an area which can become part of local planning policy. Groups in Cambridge and Malvern are evaluating the initiative.
View further details of the toolkit
City Deal for Swansea region submitted
The Swansea Bay city region has submitted an ambitious ‘internet coast’ city deal bid worth in excess of £500m over 20 years to the UK and Welsh governments. It aims to support 39,000 jobs and will focus on technology, energy and ultra-fast broadband infrastructure.
The Swansea Bay city region is made up of the local authorities of Swansea, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Neath Port Talbot.
In a separate but related move Cardiff capital region last week outlined its planned £1.28bn city deal to UK ministers, with a view to securing an in principle agreement in time for George Osborne’s budget due later this month.
Capital developments
- The London region of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), which has over 2,000 members working in the public, private and third sectors, has urged the incoming Mayor to stimulate economic growth, tackle climate change and build more homes to house the capital’s rapidly growing population.
- London assembly member Tom Copley has released a report titled ‘Tax Trial: Land Value Tax for London?’ which argues that a new and Value Tax (LVT) could provide the incentive to build over 200,000 new homes in the capital.
- Benson Elliot and Londonewcastle’s proposals to transform Ealing town centre with a series of new buildings, one 18 storeys high, providing new homes with shared gardens, a cinema, a music venue, shops, restaurants and basement car-parking and cycle storage have been approved by the west London council.
- The Metropolitan Police headquarters New Scotland Yard is set to be demolished now Westminster City Council has approved plans for a mixed-use scheme on the site in central London involving six new buildings providing nearly 93,000 square metres of new housing and retail and commercial floor space.
- Some 93 per cent of those polled in a referendum on a neighbourhood plan for the St Quintin and Woodland area of north Kensington voted yes on a turn-out of 23 per cent.
Drone initiative
Moray Council in north-east Scotland is planning to trial the use of drones to survey potential development sites.
Legal briefs
- Campaigners have applied for a judicial review of Canterbury City Council’s decision to enter a contract for the sale, subject to planning permission, of seafront land in Whitstable. View further details…
- Dorset County Council is facing an £18 million claim for compensation from a Portland quarry company following changes to the access arrangements for the site the firm owns near Southwell. View further details…
Roger Milne
Councils will be able to compete to process planning applications and offer ‘fast track’ application services, much like the Fast Track Passport service, under proposals for a series of pilots now out for consultation.
The administration said the proposals would increase local choice by giving applicants the option of whether to submit their plans to the local council, a competing council or a government-approved organisation, which would process applications up until the decision point.
Councils will also be able to offer the ‘fast track’ planning application service – either through competition pilots or potentially through devolution deals.
However, ministers have stressed that decision making on planning applications would remain with the local council.
These reforms are among other measures outlined by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) in a consultation document, which also includes latest thinking on planning charges and detail on potential government intervention when planning authorities fail to produce local plans in a timely fashion.
DCLG has proposed that planning fees should rise in line with inflation and, crucially, performance. One approach could mean that councils which under perform in respect of major applications would not benefit from increased fees.
Another approach canvassed would mean limiting increases to those authorities that are in the top 75 per cent of performance for both the speed and quality of their decisions.
The department is consulting on revised thresholds in respect of major developments and new thresholds for non-major developments.
The department has also confirmed that the government will prioritise intervention over tardy local plan marking where there is under delivery of housing in areas of high housing pressure, where plans have not been kept up to date, where the least progress in plan-making has been made and where “intervention would have the greatest impact in accelerating local plan production”.
Ministers will be checking to see if planning authorities are meeting the timetable they have set themselves, possibly on a six-month basis.
Roger Milne
Ministers confirmed last week that the new requirement to set out the financial benefits of planning applications would be drawn widely.
It will go beyond “local finance considerations” (i.e. sums payable under the Community Infrastructure Levy and grants from central government like the New Homes Bonus).
The government has proposed that council tax revenue, business rate revenue and s106 payments should be included.
The Department for Communities and Local Government has also clarified key detail over its proposals for permission in principle (PiP), brownfield registers, simplification of the neighbourhood plan process, changes to statutory consultation on planning applications and the new arrangements for section 106 dispute resolution.
It has also started consultation on changes to permitted development rights for state-funded free schools, which would mean these could open quickly on temporary sites and in temporary buildings while permanent sites are secured.
The government is also proposing to allow larger extensions to be made to school buildings in certain cases without the need for a planning application.
In respect of PiP, ministers have proposed that the so-called qualifying documents that can grant PiP on allocation should be future local plans, future neighbourhood plans and brownfield registers.
The administration has proposed that the only ‘in principle matters’ that should be determined as a part of a PiP should be the location, the uses and the amount of development. PiP should have duration of five years, ministers have also suggested.
Last year ministers committed to ensuring that 90 per cent of suitable brownfield sites should have planning permission for housing by 2020.
The consultation document suggested that planning authorities which failed to make “sufficient” progress against the brownfield objective would be unable to claim the existence of an up-to-date five year housing land supply.
In that case the presumption in favour of sustainable development would apply, the department said.
Roger Milne
Planning Portal Blog 