News

Big changes are promised in the planning system, with an overhaul of the National Planning Policy Framework which commits to delivering 1.5 million homes and growth in the economy. We are back to build, build, build!

The policy changes places pressure and accountability on local authorities to prepare ambitious local plans with more housing allocations, supporting the delivery of homes and infrastructure. The housing requirement is supported by a change in the standard method calculations for assessing housing numbers. To put it simply – this will undoubtedly lead to an increase in the housing requirements across most local authorities.

The Government seeks to achieve its ambitious housing numbers by proposing radical changes such as the inclusion of a ‘Grey Belt’ – defined as land in the Green Belt comprising Previously Developed Land and any other parcels and/or areas of Green Belt and that make a limited contribution to the five Green Belt purposes. ‘Golden Rules’ will sit alongside Grey Belt which include the provision of at least 50% affordable housing and good quality green space walking distance from homes. The Consultation also reinforces the importance of using Brownfield land first as a priority and its default answer of “yes” for brownfield development.

There will be a focus on urban areas and using the land efficiently by promoting an uplift in density. We believe there is an opportunity to add further floors to sites already with planning permission or making sites more efficient by decreasing over-sized units. The consultation also reinforces the Government’s strong support for all upwards extensions. This is good news for homeowners and SME developers who want to build up!

More on SME developers – the Government recognises the importance of SME developers in building out schemes quickly and providing value in meeting the housing need. However, Local Plans currently fall short of providing enough small sites for SME developers. Therefore, it is calling for more small sites to be allocated in Local Plans as well as a reinforcement of the presumption in favour of sustainable development which will aid windfall sites. Are there sites on the edge of settlement boundaries or sites in alternative uses that could support residential? This is an area where there may be an increase in development potential.

As well as a focus on delivering more homes, there is unsurprisingly a focus on delivering more affordable homes, as much as 50% on Grey Belt land. There is also a shift away from focusing on affordable home ownership with a change in direction which looks to local context to determine the right tenure split for affordable which may include more affordable rent.

We are pleased to see the Government proposed to get rid of subjective terms such as ‘beauty’ and ‘beautiful’ – what a relief! This should stop subjective design comments and instead reinforce the importance of the National Design Guide and National Model Design Code. Although we are pleased to see the back of words such as “beauty” and “beautiful” in design, there will still be (and we think should be!) a focus on good design.

There will be a lot more to discuss as the months unfold and the consultation draws to a close. Not at least on the impact on viability and infrastructure cost to developers. However, we think this is a good starting point which will be to the benefit of the industry.

Please get in touch with us to discuss your development sites. We are pleased to offer site appraisals and the full planning and architectural services.