Most significant reforms to housing policy in decades

The government’s proposed planning reforms seek to transform a system that has long been criticised for being too sluggish in providing housing. But how will the changes provide a boost to SME builders?

In August, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said that the delivery of high-quality, sustainable homes that communities need will be at the heart of the most significant reforms to housing policy in decades.

Often criticised for being too sluggish in providing housing for families, key workers and young people and too ineffectual in obligating developers to properly fund the infrastructure to support them, the government maintains that the new changes will keep local community agreement at the centre of proposals.

A month previous to this announcement, Jenrick said that the new laws could deliver much-needed new homes and revitalise town centres across England, meaning that full planning applications will not be required to demolish and rebuild unused buildings as homes and commercial and retail properties can be quickly repurposed to help revive our high streets and town centres.

Ministers say that recent funding boosts will strengthen the voice of local communities in some of the most disadvantaged areas in England

In theory, this should help high streets and town centres to provide more space for new businesses and help them to adapt quickly to what consumers and businesses need.

From 10 August, government grants to individual neighbourhood planning groups in both urban and deprived areas increased to £18,000, following funding increasing from £9,000 to £10,000 in May to help with the effects of coronavirus. Ministers say that the funding boost will strengthen the voice of local communities in some of the most disadvantaged areas in England.

Changes for a greener UK

As part of the wider plans, valued green spaces and Green Belt will continue to be protected for future generations, with the reforms allowing for more building on brownfield land. This includes proposals for all new streets to be tree lined.

Jenrick believes that reforming the planning system this way will ensure that local housing plans are developed and agreed in 30 months, with a pledge that all new homes will be ‘zero carbon ready’, with no new homes delivered under the new system needing to be retrofitted.

He said: “Our complex planning system has been a barrier to building the homes people need; it takes seven years to agree local housing plans and five years just to get a spade in the ground. These once in a generation reforms will lay the foundations for a brighter future, providing more homes for young people and creating better quality neighbourhoods and homes across the country. We will cut red tape, but not standards, placing a higher regard on quality, design and the environment than ever before. Planning decisions will be simple and transparent, with local democracy at the heart of the process. As we face the economic effects of the pandemic, now is the time for decisive action and a clear plan for jobs and growth. Our reforms will create thousands of jobs, lessen the dominance of big builders in the system, providing a major boost for small building companies across the country.”

Opposition to policy

The announcements have been met with some opposition. Shadow Housing and Planning Minister Mike Amesbury said that the government’s Developer’s Charter ‘will see communities side-lined’ in decision-making and ‘denied vital funding for building schools, clinics and community infrastructure’.

The Local Government Association also said that the new proposals must ensure that communities are not ignored, stressing that it is vital that new homes are delivered through a ‘locally-led planning system’ which gives communities the power to ensure new developments are of ‘a high standard, built in the right places, and include affordable homes’.

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Acknowledging that the planning system needs reform, RIBA said that there remains every chance that the proposals could also lead to the creation ‘of the next generation of slum housing’. RIBA President Alan Jones said: “If the government is serious about addressing the dominant position of large housebuilders and the lack of quality social housing, the Secretary of State needs to make changes to the tax system, look at why land approved for development lies untouched for years, and give local authorities power and resource to promote and safeguard quality.

“The commitment to make all new homes carbon neutral by 2050 also needs be brought forward radically – we simply cannot go on building homes that damage the environment and leave people at risk of fuel poverty for another 30 years. These reforms might seem radical, but they won’t even scratch the surface when it comes to building the homes we need.”

A loss for nature

Environmental groups have also warned that the new planning system reforms announced by the government could sweeping losses of nature across the UK. Although the government plans have stressed that valued green spaces and Green Belt will continue to be protected for future generations, a number of organisations and charities have said that over-simplifying planning rules is likely to put wildlife, heritage, and green open spaces in danger.

This is particularly worrying considering that the RSPB found that 81 per cent of the public feel the coronavirus outbreak has demonstrated the importance of protecting and restoring nature.

Environmental groups have warned that the new planning system reforms announced by the government could sweeping losses of nature across the UK

The Wildlife and Countryside Link has said that strategic planning can offer some benefits for environment and development, but must be done in combination with much improved site-specific environmental knowledge—it cannot replace the current rules as nature doesn’t fit neatly into zones. For example, some brownfield sites that could be earmarked as a priority for development are among our most important wildlife havens.

Wildlife charities have also echoed the voices of council leaders in reminding that the planning system is not the main cause of development delays or affordable housing shortfalls - 90 per cent of applications are approved by local planning authorities. Delays are more commonly caused by poorly designed proposals from developers, decisions by developers to limit build rates to maximise profit margins, unclear government guidance or its inconsistent application by agencies and authorities, and an acute lack of planning capacity in local authorities.

In fact, research by homelessness charity Shelter at the start of September, found that more than 380,000 homes granted planning permission between 2011 and 2019 remain unbuilt – accounting for 40 per cent of all homes with planning consent in England. The backlog of unbuilt homes has grown by a further 100,000 in the last year alone, leading to claims that the government’s new planning reforms will not boost housebuilding by themselves.

Nature and access groups are urging the government to ensure the planning system has: more ecologists and environmental planners in local authorities; clearer rules to prevent low-quality applications by developers; stronger protection for nationally endangered species and their habitats; better use of digital information, satellite mapping and ecological surveys; and stronger planning provisions in the Environment Bill, with biodiversity gain for all developments and Local Nature Recovery Strategies capable of influencing planning and spending decisions.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

www.wcl.org.uk