The proposals are unlikely to bring a swift end to the protracted delays and increasing complications in winning planning approval for brownfield schemes. Much-needed changes in the planning system will not happen for some time.
Revision of PPG 1 and a review of planning obligations which could herald the introduction of impact fees are both unlikely to have any impact before the next general election, due next year.
There is also concern at the failure to equalise the levels of VAT paid on renovation compared to greenfield new build. Lord Rogers made equalisation a key recommendation of the Urban Taskforce Report which was presented to the Government in June 1999. "We must create a level playing field to both promote urban regeneration and protect the countryside," he said.
The White Paper confirms the five-year £1bn fiscal package announced in Gordon Brown's pre-budget statement. There will be accelerated tax breaks for developers cleaning up contaminated land, stamp duty will be abolished in deprived areas, there will be 100% capital allowance for creating flats over shops and VAT will be reduced to 5% for residential conversions and abolished for the sale or renovation of homes empty for more than ten years.
John Assael, a director of architect Assael Architecture which has worked on urban schemes with such developers as Barratt and Nicholson Estates, said: "For once visions and dreams are backed by hard ideas on how to achieve them. But it is depressing that the white paper recommends keeping PPG15, which covers conservation areas and listed buildings. It is going to be difficult to build tall buildings and achieve high densities in those areas." The Government says changes to PPG15 will be covered in English Heritage's forthcoming report on the historic environment.
Other legislation in the pipeline includes the clarification of compulsory purchase orders to speed up procedures and make compensation simpler.
The paper also announced a further six millennium villages including one on the Cardroom Estate, East Manchester. There will also be 12 new urban regeneration companies in the next three years in addition to the three pilot schemes in Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield. These will involve a range of private and public sector partners, but local government is not yet convinced how they will work.
"The jury's out," said Helen Moody, urban policy planner at the Local Government Association. "Local authorities will be asking what these companies can do that they can't. Unless they are linked to bigger issues such as transport and employment they won't be effective. No one knows how these areas will be chosen and how closely local authorities will be consulted," she said.
Source
Building Homes
