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
The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) has insisted that planning committees should record the reasons for their decisions clearly, particularly when their result conflicts with officers’ recommendations.
The watchdog stressed that decision making should be as open and transparent as possible, particularly in the face of public opposition.
The LGO has reported that this was not the case in a recent investigation involving Erewash Borough Council in Derbyshire.
Neighbours complained to the LGO about the way the council approved an application for a development on green belt land near their homes. They made a number of complaints, including that the initial application was not advertised properly, and that members did not give any reasons for granting the proposed extensions planning permission. The LGO upheld some of the complaints.
The application was recommended for refusal because the proposed extensions were disproportionate to the size of the original building and would increase the building’s prominence.
The officer’s report to the committee included details of the neighbours’ objections and those of the local parish council along with representations from the applicant and his agent.
Following a site visit, members decided to approve the application against the officer’s recommendation. However, no record was made of the reasons for their decision.
The watchdog recommended that Erewash Borough Council apologise to the neighbours for failing to publicise the application as a departure from the local plan and for also not giving reasons for the decision to grant planning permission.
Roger Milne
Communities Secretary Greg Clark has allowed two free school projects, both for academies, against the recommendations of the inspectors who held the recovered inquiries.
Clark has granted prior approval to the Secretary of State for Education to allow the temporary use of Pioneer House in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire as a faith school to become permanent.
This was a redetermination. Clark’s predecessor Sir Eric Pickles had backed the scheme but his decision was overturned after a High Court challenge brought by the parish council and the local planning authority South Buckinghamshire District Council.
The main issue was noise nuisance. Clark’s decision letter concluded that the predicted external levels of noise would be “acceptable with regard to the relevant guidelines”. He said the internal noise levels “would not give rise to significant adverse impacts to health and quality of life”.
The Secretary of State has also granted planning permission and listed building consent to Route 39 Academy Trust and Willmott Dixon for a permanent new school at Steart Farm in Bideford, Devon.
The location is in the North Devon Coast area of outstanding natural beauty. The scheme was opposed by Torridge District Council and recommended for refusal by the inspector who held the inquiry.
Clark acknowledged that the proposals, including a new school building, breached AONB policies but concluded that there were “exceptional circumstances” which justified the project.
He decided that “the disadvantages to the public interest of the proposed development at Steart farm within the AONB are outweighed by the significant benefits of the school at the appeal site”.
Roger Milne
Peers have added their voice to those criticising current government policies as unlikely to meet demand for either the quantity or quality of new homes needed.
The Lords Select Committee on National Policy for the Built Environment has published a report which urged the government to appoint a chief built environment advisor to champion higher standards in the built environment across government departments.
The report also recommended that ministers should review the National Planning Policy Framework to make sure developers weren’t using financial viability “to play fast and loose with design quality and sustainability”.
Peers want the administration to publish a nationally consistent methodology for viability assessment.
The committee said the government should reconsider the proposal to include ‘starter homes’ within the definition of affordable housing since “starter homes cease to include any element of affordability after five years”.
Peers also wanted design reviews to be mandatory for all major planning applications.
Their report also made the case for planning departments to be better resourced. “Planning profession needs to rediscover the prestige planning once had,” said the peers and urged more proactive planning by local authorities.
Liverpool needs link to HS2 says report
A high speed rail link to HS2 for Liverpool is essential if the Chancellor’s decision to build a Northern Powerhouse is to succeed, according to a report from independent think tank ResPublica.
The report argued that northern cities need a dedicated high speed link to HS2 if they are to reach the level of economic success that the Chancellor wants.
It said Liverpool and other northern cities will be left behind if HS2 doesn’t go beyond favoured cities and locations.
The report claimed the cost of extending HS2 to Liverpool would be less than £3bn and suggested up to two thirds of the bill could be self-financed by the city region through the local retention of taxes.
ResPublica’s proposal would see a dedicated high speed rail line linking the Liverpool city region into the HS2 route to the north of Crewe, and connecting it to Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly on high speed track.
This link would also be the westernmost branch of the planned east-west “HS3” or “TransNorth” route running from Liverpool to Hull and reconnecting the great cities of the north.
Green light for Goole employment and distribution hub
An employment and distribution hub at Goole offering around 200,000 square metres of floor space plus a 100 bed hotel has been approved by the East Riding of Yorkshire planning committee.
Yorkshire developers Sterling Capitol and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), advised by Indigo Planning, are involved in the project which could create up to 3,000 new jobs.
The proposed development comprises two elements:
- Goole36, a 39-hectare site which is being promoted by the HCA for direct development; and
- Capitol Park, a 13-hectare location controlled by Sterling Capitol and offering design and build development opportunities. It is close to the existing Tesco regional distribution centre, Drax biomass facility and the Guardian glass factory.
The site has direct access to junction 36 of the M62 and the Port of Goole, and sits within the Humber enterprise zone with potential for a dedicated rail link.
Major Welsh wind farm withdrawn by developer
Swedish power company Vattenfall has withdrawn its proposed 122.5-megawatt Mynydd Lluest y Graig wind farm in Powys from the planning regime for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects. The project had been registered for the pre-application stage of the NSIP process.
The company blamed “recent changes to planning policy” for its move. The Government is currently legislating to remove on-shore wind farms from the Planning Act 2008 (as amended) regime.
Read the letter from the developer.
Housing statistics published
There has been no change in owner occupation rates over the last two years, according to the latest English Housing Survey for 2014-15.
The survey published by the Department for Communities and Local Government highlighted that the rate of over-crowding remained low while under-occupation has increased and driven by the owner-occupier sector.
The overall rate of overcrowding in England in 2014-15 was three per cent, unchanged from 2013-14 with some 675,000 households living in overcrowded conditions.
Overall the energy efficiency of the English housing stock gas improved with average SAP rating of English dwellings now 61 points up from 45 points in 1996. The improvement was across all tenures.
The number of non-decent homes in England has continued to decline. In 2014 a fifth of dwellings failed to meet the decent homes standard, a reduction of 3.1 million homes since 2006 when 35 per cent of homes failed to meet the standard. The private rented sector has the highest proportion of non-decent homes (29 per cent).
Government consults on new London-only PD proposals
The government has begun consulting on three complementary ways to encourage more housing in London by allowing additional storeys on buildings.
The proposals are: a London-wide permitted development right, with a prior approval, for up to two additional storeys, up to the roofline of an adjoining building; specific planning policies in the London Plan to support upward extensions for new homes and boroughs making local development orders to grant planning permission to extend upwards for all or part of their area, or for particular types of buildings.
London round-up
- Tower Hamlets Council has approved proposals for what will be Europe’s tallest residential tower, a 67-storey skyscraper designed by architects HOK for a site overlooking West India Quay on the Isle of Dogs. The scheme will provide 861 new flats.
- Communities Secretary Greg Clark has accepted the recommendation of a planning inspector and allowed a recovered appeal for a 24-storey residential tower proposed by developer Essential Living for a site at Swiss Cottage that was originally refused by Camden Council. Clark concluded that the impact of the Theatre Square scheme on local conservation areas and heritage assets was outweighed by the housing benefits – including affordable homes provision.
- Lewisham Council is embroiled in a row with Millwall FC over plans to compulsory purchase land for the New Bermondsey regeneration scheme proposed for the area around the club’s stadium. The scheme safeguards the operation of the club and will provide new cladding for the stadium. The New Bermondsey project involves up to 2,400 new homes, a new London overground station and other community benefits.
Report blows cold on developer contribution scheme for NI affordable homes
Plans to require developers to contribute towards affordable housing provision is unrealistic for most of Northern Ireland according to a report commissioned by the Department for Social Development (DSD) and the Department of the Environment (DoE).
Researchers from Heriot Watt University and Three Dragons Consultancy concluded that introducing a scheme would not work given “current market conditions”.
The report argued that a scheme could be considered for greater Belfast but that “timing, percentage target and form of provision are best left to local decision makers”. Developer contribution schemes operate in the rest of the UK and in the Irish Republic.
Environment minister Mark H Durkan said: “My department’s strategic planning policy will continue to recognise the importance of social and affordable housing and encourage its provision through local development plans.”
Cruise terminal
A feasibility study for a new permanent cruise liner facility in Liverpool is to be undertaken, the city council has announced.
It has identified the former Princes Jetty at Princes Parade, close to the landing stage, as its preferred location and a potentially suitable site.
The council will appoint a consultancy next month to undertake a detailed study into the design and cost of constructing a terminal capable of handling 3,600 embarking and disembarking passengers with baggage – twice as many as the existing temporary facility at Princes Parade.
The site would include passport control, passenger lounge, café, toilets, taxi rank, vehicle pick up point, coach layover area and a car park.
Call for tech-savvy planning
Cities need to use better planning to attract the technology and advanced manufacturing (AM) sectors while avoiding the creation of “tech ghettos” that exacerbate social inequality, a new report from the RTPI has stressed.
The report highlighted concern that the presence of technology and AM sectors can lead to a two-speed economy and economic segregation.
The report stressed that policies and incentives that attract those sectors should be balanced by plans to ensure their growth is beneficial to the whole city or region.
Richard Blyth, RTPI’s head of policy, said: “The success of places like Horsham, Temple Quarter in Bristol and Dublin’s Docklands is proof that innovative hubs don’t just thrive by chance, they are also frequently the result of good planning”.
Teesside Mayoral Development Corporation proposed
Former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Heseltine has revealed plans for a new Mayoral Development Corporation – the first of its kind outside London.
This would target regeneration and local economic growth in the Tees Valley area with an initial focus on transforming the former SSI steelworks site at Redcar.
Work will start immediately to form the corporation. This will offer a vehicle for greater powers to be devolved in areas including regeneration planning and business support.
LGA voices starter home doubts
Discounted starter homes could be out of reach for the majority of families in need of an affordable home in many parts of the country, analysis released by the Local Government Association (LGA) has revealed.
The LGA acknowledged that the national starter homes scheme could help some people onto the housing ladder but that crucial details are yet to be confirmed.
The association is concerned the initiative will help the fewest numbers of people in areas where the housing affordability crisis is most acute and will be out of reach for many people in need of an affordable home in the majority of local areas.
Council leaders are calling for local flexibility on the number, type and quality of starter homes so that they meet the needs of local communities.
D-Day for Dorset footpath decision
The Environment Secretary has set Dorset County Council a deadline of July next year (2017) to decide whether it should modify its definitive map and statement of public rights of way and add a footpath from Weymouth to Castle Cove beach at Portland Harbour.
Campaigners had applied to the council for modification in October 2014 but it emerged that the council was unlikely to take a decision until 2019.
The Planning Inspectorate has sent a letter to campaigners which made it clear the Secretary State took the view that a period of 18 months should be allowed for the determination of the application.
Read the letter from the Planning Inspectorate.
Bristol surf scheme approved
Planning permission for re-designed engineering works for a multi-million pound surfing lake at Almondsbury near Bristol has been given the go-ahead by South Gloucestershire Council.
The Wave Bristol project is set to create one of the largest artificial waves for surfers in the world. As well as the lake the proposals include an adventure trail, swimming pool, and a camping area with 100 pitches.
Hampshire new town move
Fareham Borough Council has decided to seek a development partner for the Welborne scheme, a proposed new settlement of up to 6,000 new homes, 30 per cent of which will be affordable, earmarked for 400 hectares of land to the north of Fareham near the M27. A special meeting of the council executive also agreed to consider using compulsory purchase powers to expedite the project.
Coastal plans
Coastal community teams around England have submitted over 100 economic plans designed to boost growth and jobs.
Communities Secretary Greg Clark said the proposals demonstrated a wealth of creative and practical ideas. They include building a new history centre in Plymouth to redesigning the high street in Scarborough.
Court briefs
- A Wiltshire landowner has lost a Court of Appeal case over a 22 hectare solar farm located near his £3 million home. The Court of Appeal overturned an earlier High Court judgment which quashed permission for the scheme which has been built. Read the BBC news story.
- The owner of the George Tavern, a 600-year-old, Grade II listed pub and music venue in east London has won permission to pursue a legal challenge over the effect of new developments on established licensed premises to the Court of Appeal. The challenge relates to Swan Housing Association’s plans to build six flats next door to the pub, on the basis that noise complaints from future residents could pose a significant threat to the venue’s future. Read the news story.
- Wealden District Council has won a planning court challenge over a planning inspector’s grant of outline permission for a 103-dwelling development at Crowborough, East Sussex, on appeal. Read the news story.
- West Berkshire Council has accepted a High Court judgment dismissing its challenge over a planning inspector’s grant of planning permission on appeal for a residential development at Burghfield Common. Read more about the development.
Ministers have launched a rural planning review to reduce regulatory burdens in support of new homes, jobs and innovation. This initiative was signalled in last year’s Rural Productivity Plan.
A key element of this exercise centres on the rules for converting agricultural buildings to residential use. Following changes introduced in 2014 more than 2,000 agricultural buildings have been converted to homes.
The administration is interested in views over whether the current thresholds should be changed further. These limit change of use to a maximum of 450 square metres of floor space and up to three additional dwellings across the farm.
The administration has made it clear it is interested in how the permitted development rights in Part 6 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 are being used. Also of interest is how the planning system helps or hinders those developing farm shops, polytunnels and on-farm reservoirs.
Communities Secretary Greg Clark said: “The need for new homes doesn’t stop where our cities end, it’s just as real in rural towns and villages that need new house building to keep thriving.
“That’s why we are looking carefully at how our planning reforms can deliver this whilst at the same time ensuring local people have more control over planning and the Green Belt continues to be protected.”
Roger Milne
Current government policies designed to increase housing supply may not achieve that goal, top property consultancy Savills has warned.
The company has also highlighted that changes in affordable housing definition and policy are “likely to leave a gap in housing provision for those on lower incomes”.
A research note just published by the company pointed out that ‘Help to Buy’, ‘Starter Homes’ and shared ownership would largely serve the same parts of the market. “As a result of the overlap, there is a risk that the schemes may not deliver additional homes”
The assessment also argued there was a risk that the ‘Starter Homes’ policy could distort the new homes sales market, “without significantly increasing the number of new homes delivered overall”.
Savills added: “uncertainty surrounding the details of these schemes, including future affordable housing requirements alongside ‘Starter Homes’ makes the appraisal of land values a challenge.”
The note also questioned the impact on housing supply of the new focus of house building on first time buyers via the ‘Starter Homes’ initiative.
Savills’ researchers said: “Simply replacing homes which would have been delivered anyway through existing routes, namely in the open market via ‘Help to Buy’ or as affordable housing through s106 agreements, will not provide additional homes.
“In fact by narrowing the focus of house building to first time buyers we risk creating the reverse effect and reducing the number of new homes built”.
View the Savills policy response (pdf)
Roger Milne
Planning Portal Blog 