Planning for the Future – Government White Paper issued for Consultation 

The much-anticipated planning White Paper setting out proposed reform to speed up and modernise the planning system was published late last night for consultation until the 29th October 2020. Link here.

Much of the press focus today will be on this White Paper but more immediately relevant to the planning community and our clients is the consultation published at the same time, but with less of a fanfare, setting out imminent proposed changes to the current planning system. This consultation runs until the 01st October 2020. Link here.

Planning Reform Day – key points from Planning for the Future

In summary, the White Paper seeks strategic and development management policies to be made at national level (including setting housing delivery targets for each authority area).  Local Plans are to focus on identifying area specific requirements, setting locally produced design codes and categorizing land into three sections:

• Growth areas: those suitable for substantial development and where outline approval for development would be automatically secured for forms and types of development specified in the Plan.  It is also worth noting that LPA’s might be able to identify sub-areas within this for self and custom-build homes;
• Renewal areas: suitable for lesser development such as gentle densification; and
• Protected areas: where development is restricted.

The local plan preparation and adoption process would be shortened, simplified and quicker (2.5-3.5 years to prepare and adopt) with great emphasis placed on communication with communities at plan preparation level, rather than at planning application stage.

A digital approach to the planning process is promised together with focus on design and sustainability and reform of CIL and S106 to a nationally set value based flat rate charge. Furthermore, clearer and more consistent planning conditions are proposed, with standard national conditions to cover common issues.

The Paper suggests fundamental and potentially exciting changes to free up a system bogged down in a myriad of legislation, uncertainty and the bureaucracy of local planning authorities.

However, as ever – the devil will be in the detail. It is not yet known how these changes will be transferred into legislation and how quickly investment will reach the LPAs to enable them to meet these new challenges.

At the moment there are far more questions than answers, but we do know that this will take time to go through the due processes. In the meantime, if you want to have your say in influencing the evolution of Planning for the Future, getting involved in the consultation from the outset will be vital. The consultation is now live and runs until the 29th October.  There are c. 26 questions relating to the proposals set out by the Government, and many of these questions ask for a supporting statement.  We are very experienced in making strategic representations for these types of consultations and so if you want your voice to be heard effectively, contact us to see how we can help.

Planning Reform Day part deux – key points from Changes to the Current Planning System

The aim of this consultation is to bring in short term measures to deliver more housing and to improve the effectiveness of the current system, whilst the more fundamental reform is underway.

Summary of the key aspects relevant to our clients:

• Where affordable housing (AH) is sought/relevant to an application, the Government will require 25% of the provision to be on site First Homes (discount market housing). This tenure will take priority over other forms of affordable home ownership products;
• Temporary lifting small sites threshold for affordable housing delivery for 18 months – meaning development of less than 40 or 50 units could be exempt from AH provision;
• Extending permission in principal (PiP) to major development – relevant to schemes of under 150 homes and under 5 hectares (to avoid EIA trigger sites). No limit is proposed for the amount of commercial space that can be within a scheme, but it must remain housing led.

Subject to the consultation feedback received, these changes could be introduced as early as this autumn. As with the wider reforms referenced above, – having your say is important. Consultation is open until 1st October 2020. Again, we are very experienced in making strategic representations for these types of consultations and so if you want your voice to be heard effectively, contact us to see how we can help.

A planning consultant’s thoughts on the White Paper

In the foreword by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson describes our current planning system as a crumbling house “no longer fit for human habitation”.  This White Paper seeks to: “tear it down and start again.”  But does the White Paper live up to its claims of being “radical reform” which will provide a system which is: “simpler, clearer and quicker to navigate, delivering results in weeks and months rather than years and decades.”

Well – it is too early to say.  But given the suggested timeframe in the White Paper, we would anticipate at least 4 years before full implementation. But will the anticipation of the revised planning system, slow down our current system even more, as LPA’s cease Local Plan revisions and production because, with the new White Paper in town, frankly what is the point?

It also seems like a missed opportunity to finally embrace some Green Belt reform.  Confusion over this designation still reigns, with a popular misconception being that it seeks to protect beautiful green spaces.  It doesn’t, its primary function is to prevent urban sprawl.  If only they had even just considered renaming it to something less emotive and more suitable – urban sprawl protection zone anyone?

As for beauty – isn’t it in the eye of the beholder? If so, the proposals suggest an awful lot of decisions which will be made on the basis of a very subjective concept.  Again, the devil will be in the detail and it will be interesting to see how the proposed design guides will factor this in.

Then there is the sustainable development test – apparently the concept of sustainable development is ”an existing and well-understood basis for the planning system.”  We beg to differ, from our own experience, the number of applications where we have had to argue and debate this issue clearly suggests otherwise.  So again, whilst the Government are seeking a leaning towards a clear-cut rules-based system, their reliance on two very subjective concepts of ‘beauty’ and ‘sustainability’ for decision making seems contradictory.

However, we do support a streamlining of the process – for too long, positive developments have been hampered by ineffective decision making.  LPA’s are notoriously understaffed and with Local Plans having to be reviewed every 5 years, but it often taking 7 years for a plan to be finalised, it leaves LPA’s vulnerable to speculative development and developers uncertain as to outcome.

How to get involved in the planning reform consultations

We will watch proceedings with great interest- but in the meantime now is the time to get involved. It is clear that elements of these proposals are in their infancy and this represents a prime opportunity to potentially have an impact on the evolution of these proposals and planning reform as a whole.

The team at Plainview Planning are experienced at making insightful and strategic representations to ensure the views of our clients are heard.  If you want help in formulating a relevant response to these consultations, then contact the team via enquiries@plainview.co.uk or call us on 01242 501003  to see how we can best assist you.

INFORMATION SOURCES: 

MHCLG: Planning for the Future – consultation document

MHCLG: Changes to the current planning system – consultation document