Anglia Ruskin University Seminar18 November 2015, Huntingdon

Catriona Riddell

Planning Policy UpdatePlanning Policy Update

Planning Policy 2010-15

Planning Policy 2010-15• Regional Strategies scrapped and replaced with the Duty to Cooperate

• NPPF and NPPG introduced with presumption in favour of sustainable development and reconfirmation of a ‘plan led’ system (in theory!)

• Introduction of neighbourhood planning

• National infrastructure (NSIPs) process retained but Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) abolished

• Deregulation particularly with regards to change of use and permitted development

• Fiscal incentives for development introduced (CIL, NHB)

• Government fixated with housing delivery

• Concept of ‘Garden Cities’ reintroduced

Reflections of the last five years

• Scrapping of regional planning has led to increased housing provision based on OANs

• Plan-based system important due to 5-year land supply – apart from Green Belt areas

• Duty to Cooperate proves it has teeth, but fails to deliver effective strategic planning

“The Green Belt can be rightly protected. There is plenty of land which is not Green Belt that we can build on and which is suitable for housing.”

Business Secretary Sajid Javid

July 2015

Reflections of the last five years

• Decreasing ability to retain land for employment/infrastructure needs and to ‘place-shape’

• Planning reduced in status in both Central and Local Government – resources disappearing!

• Constant attempts at increasing housing numbers (through LEPs, City Deals etc) failed – delivery the issue, not plan-making

• Local communities have more say over location of new development (through NPs) but not quantum.

The challenges of effective strategic planning

•Political leadership / making decisions in the interests of the ‘greater good’

•Local authority structures, resources & expertise

•Local plan timetables /alignment of strategic evidence

•Developing robust growth strategies/ housing-employment relationship

“The evidence tends to suggest that the council’s housing requirement would support only a fraction of the jobs sought by the councils regeneration strategy”

Doncaster DPD Examination, Oct 2014

“The economic strategy is unduly pessimistic, including the assumptions about economic growth and jobs growth”

Cheshire East Examination, Oct 2014

“The preferred economic scenario represents an unacceptable risk” and the growth strategy being pursued by neighbours would have a “moderating effect” on the council’s economic ambitions.

Durham Examination, Feb 2015“…the discrepancy between the Council’s employment and housing projections is a significant flaw in the evidence base and the justification for the housing figure, which in practice appears not to be aligned to any employment forecasts”

Horsham Examination, Dec 2014

The rebirth of effective strategic planning

Shared strategic evidence base

(SHMA, Green Belt Review, Infrastructure Framework)

e.g. BerkshireKent & Medway

Oxfordshire Surrey

Strategic planning framework

e.g. CWS&GBCambridgeshire &

PeterboroughSuffolk

LeicestershireBristol City RegionWest Midlands?

Statutory strategic framework/ Joint Core Strategies

e.g. LondonGreater Manchester

Sheffield City Region, North East CA

Black Country Joint CS

The reality of ‘Localism’• Greg Clarke the ‘champion’ of

Localism

• Neighbourhood Plans successful in part

• Decisions ‘in the interests of the greater good’ becoming more difficult to make at local level

• Increasing number of anti-development councillors and sympathisers (particularly in SE)

• Local communities given increasing power to influence decisions on ‘challenging’ issues such as wind power

Planning Policy 2015-2020

Planning policy in the next 5 years• Increased Government dictation/intervention by SoS (H&P Bill

introduces 32 new powers for SoS)

• Increasing emphasis on housing delivery with cities, particularly in the North, seen as answer to housing crisis

• Rebirth of strategic planning, mainly through ‘Devolution Revolution’

• Age-old attempt by Government to speed up plan-making process

• Re-introduction of IPC under a different name

• Significant changes heralded in Fixing the Foundations and Rural Productivity Plan

• Streamlining plan-making (Clauses 92-95, 99)

• Increased housing delivery focus on brownfield/public land (Clause 103)

• Introduction of Planning Permission in Principle (PPIP) (Clause 102)

• Starter Homes re-classed as ‘affordable’ housing (Clauses 1-6)

The Housing & Planning Bill

“As a one nation government we’re determined that anybody who works hard and aspires to own their own home has the opportunity to do so.

..the Housing Bill will allow us go even further by kick-starting a national crusade to get 1 million homes built by 2020. It truly is an historic moment that will help deliver the homes hard-working people rightly deserve, transforming generation rent into generation buy.”

Brandon Lewis, Housing Minister

• New proposals to streamline the length and process of local plan-making

• government-appointed panel of experts helping the Secretary of State consider how this can be done “with the aim of slashing the amount of time it takes for local authorities to get them in place”.

• Deadline of 2017 set for local authorities to produce local plans with league tables introduced to show progress

• New SoS powers include intervention in Examination to scrutinise specific policies

• SoS will intervene to “arrange for local plans to be written, in consultation with local people.”

Streamlining the plan-making process

“The government will bring forward proposals to significantly streamline the length and process of local plans, helping to speed up the process of implementing or amending a plan.

The government will also bring forward proposals to improve cooperation between local authorities”.

Para 9.11 Fixing the Foundations

Local Plans Expert Group

• John Rhodes of planning consultants Quod (Chair)

• Adrian Penfold British Land• Richard Harwood QC 39 Essex

Chambers• Cllr Toby Elliott Swindon Borough

Council• Keith Holland, a retired Senior

Planning Inspector

• Liz Peace, formerly of the British Property Federation

• John Howell MP, member for Henley

• Derek Stebbing, Local Authority Plans Manager Chelmsford City Council

“the remit of the group will be broad and cover any aspect of the Local Plan-making process that they feel is relevant, calling on experts in the field as they see fit. They are due to report back in the New Year”

Brownfield Register and PPIP:•Statutory register of brownfield sites to be established to help get Government’s target of LDOs on 90% of ‘suitable’ brownfield sites by 2020

•Zonal approach for sites on register where automatic Planning Permission in Principle (PPIP) to be applied to sites over 10 units subject to limited technical details

•PPIP to be extended to future local and neighbourhood plan allocations (not applied retrospectively to existing plans)

•Nationwide development order will set out type and scope of development subject to PPIP

Delivering more housing

“The government is clear on the need to promote use of brownfield land, and will remove all unnecessary obstacles to its re-development, including these sorts of planning obstacles.”

Para 9.14 Fixing the Foundations

Starter Homes•Government promises to deliver 200,000 new Starter Homes by 2020

•New homes for sale to first-time buyers under 40 at a least a 20% discount

•Will be included in the definition of affordable housing with new duties placed on local planning authorities to ensure delivery on all reasonably sized sites.

•To be strictly enforced, even if contrary to existing local plan.

“The government is clear on the need to promote use of brownfield land, and will remove all unnecessary obstacles to its re-development, including these sorts of planning obstacles.”

Para 9.14 Fixing the Foundations

Delivering more housing

Cities & Local Government Bill• Transfer of significant powers and

funding to CAs with elected mayor (planning not explicit)

• Other city regions looking at model but not keen on mayor aspect

• Scepticism about whether real devolution on offer – lack of confidence in local government

• As with Growth Deals, City Deals – key measure will be housing delivery

• 38 bids and growing with 4 deals agreed (Manchester, Sheffield, North East CA and Tees Valley CA)

The Devolution Revolution

The North East deal will:“Create North East Planning Development Framework (not a regional spatial strategy) led by the Mayor, to enable the constituent authorities to deliver on housing growth. This will create an overarching framework for development in the North East, delivering the National Planning Policy Framework according to the specific needs of communities in the North East, supporting local development frameworks, and incorporating the duty to cooperate between the constituent local authorities.”

The Devolution Revolution

The Sheffield City Region deal will:

“Create a spatial framework, which will act as the framework for managing planning across the Sheffield City Region, and with which all Local Development Plans will be in strategic alignment. The spatial framework will need to be approved by unanimous vote of the members appointed by constituent councils of the Mayoral Combined Authority. This approach must not delay any Local Development Plans, and will build upon the local plans being developed.”

The Devolution Revolution

National Infrastructure

• National Infrastructure Commission – statutory body with responsibility for setting out the long term infrastructure projects needed to support growth with focus initially on London and the northern city regions, and on energy projects.

• Some housing developments of up to 500 units that are either ‘functionally needed’ or are within the geographical proximity of the infrastructure to be considered through the NSIP regime.

The NIC would work out “calmly and dispassionately what the country needs to build for its future”

George Osborne, Sept 2015

Planning for rural areas

Rural Productivity Plan– Towards a one nation economy

Increase housing in rural areas and allow Starter Homes to be built on Rural Exceptions Sites Improve connectivity through the Road Investment Strategy (2020-2025) and improvements to broadband/mobile communications.Promote strong conditions to support rural businesses - including carrying out the review of planning constraints in rural areas, reviewing the current thresholds for agricultural buildings to convert to residential buildings and encouragement of LAs to bring forward proposals for rural enterprise zones.

“Through the right combination of measures, the government wants to ensure that any village in England has the freedom to expand in an incremental way, subject to local agreement”

The next 5 years - Conclusions

• Planning Panel recommendations focus on plan-making and not plan decision-making

• PINs encouraged to be as pragmatic as possible to get LPs through examination – soundness ‘good enough’ not ‘perfection’

• Despite pressure to support growth of cities (especially London) ongoing political reluctance to address Green Belt (from all parties)

• Increasing interference/control from Government/ retrench from true ‘Localism’ limiting ability to place-shape e.g. ensure sufficient employment land

• Duty to Cooperate retained but more effective strategic planning ‘through the back door’ of devolution and to address strategic challenges – possible 2-stage testing process

The next 5 years - Conclusions

• Continued focus on housing delivery on brownfield sites but limited ‘new’ sites

• Continued emphasis on meeting OANs and 5-year land supply but SoS/ Inspectors encouraged to look more long term

• Focus on Starter Homes significantly impacts on delivery of genuinely ‘affordable’ housing

• Tougher stance on unpopular issues e.g. wind turbines, Travellers

• LPAs forced to restructure/combine teams to address skills and resources (and support CAs)

catrionariddell@btinternet.comcatrionariddell@btinternet.com

Thank you!Thank you!