Autumn Statement: A series of tweaks to the planning system have been announced in a bid to speed up development
George Osborne has announced a series of tweaks to the planning system to help speed development.
The chancellor’s Autumn Statement today said the government would legislate to address the problem of pre-commencement conditions imposed by local authorities on housebuilders when they have planning applications approved.
This comes after the Home Builders’ Federation has said the number of additional conditions that have to be satisfied before building can go ahead is on the rise, leading to months of delay after planning approvals have been granted.
The Autumn Statement documents said the government would now “legislate to treat planning conditions as approved where a planning authority has failed to discharge a planning condition on time”.
“The government will consult on legislative measures to strengthen the requirement for planning authorities to justify any conditions that must be discharged before building can start,” it added.
The documents also said the government would consult on measures to improve plan making, including a statutory requirement to put a Local Plan in place and would consult on liberalising change of usefrom retail to restaurant or assembly and leisure uses, and liberalising planning restrictions on mezzanine floors in retail premises, where this will support town centres.
Other planning measures in the Autumn Statement included:
- government to consult on proposals to reduce the number of applications where unnecessary statutory consultations occur and pilot a single point of contact for cases where conflicting advice is provided by key statutory consultees
- government will consult on increasingthe threshold for designation under the Growth and Infrastructure Act from 30% to 40% of decisions made on time
- government will consult on a new 10 unit threshold for section 106 affordable housing contributions to reduce costs for smaller builders
- government will consult on measures to improve further the incentive of the New Homes Bonus, in particular withholding payments where local authorities have objected to development, and planning approvals are granted on appeal.
- government will work with industry, local authorities and other interested parties to develop a pilot for passing a share of the benefits of development directly to individual households
Reaction:
National Housing Federation chief executive David Orr said: “It’s important that people and communities support local developments, but the Community Infrastructure Levy was designed to make developments acceptable by delivering necessary infrastructure.
“We are concerned that further attempts to dilute CIL by passing a portion to individuals will prevent necessary infrastructure being delivered or increase CIL charges at the expense of affordable housing.
“We support incentives to encourage local authorities to grant planning permission in a sensible time-frame. Developers would be able to get on site quicker and build homes faster in communities that really need them.
“However, we would not support the reintroduction of thresholds for section 106 affordable housing contributions. All developments, irrespective of size, should include a contribution to affordable housing given the desperate need for these types of homes around the country.”
Richard Threlfall, partner and head of infrastructure, building and construction at KPMG, said the “biggest story” was the announcement of a pilot project for sharing some of the benefits of developments directly with individual households.
“It means that in the future those near major infrastructure schemes could start to benefit financially. Just imagine if the proposals for a new bypass near your house meant that you could be offered twice the market value for it and could move to somewhere better that, perhaps, you could only have dreamt of before.
“This would transform the debate over UK infrastructure and change the face of Britain. It would abolish the current compensation regime which, by paying as little as possible, ensures the strident opposition of all those nearby, draws in wider opposition groups, and throws fuel onto the fire of controversial schemes.
“The whole country benefits from schemes like HS2 or fracking in Balcombe, but under the current regime the cost is borne by those whose homes and businesses are affected. A more generous compensation scheme would be fairer all round and is long overdue.
“If those near major developments can become supporters not opponents of new infrastructure projects, we can wave goodbye to nimbyism.”
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