The Government's proposed planning reforms

12/10/2011

By Roy Willis, Partner in the Commercial Property & Development department. Article first published in Kent Business on 3rd November 2011.

Experts consider a strong housing market benefits UK plc. Put simply, a house represents the biggest source of wealth for a household. If house prices rise, then a household’s wealth increases which translates into increased consumer confidence.

As the coalition government strives to address the budget deficit facing the country, changes are afoot to the planning system intended to stimulate the house building industry and by association boost consumer spending.

The coalition considers the planning reforms of the last Labour government created a centralized and heavily regulated framework. Its policies seek to return the decision making process to the local level through the Localism Bill and the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and to introduce a presumption in favour of sustainable development. So what does this mean for house builders?

On a practical level, very little will change. Developers will still need to carry out thorough investigations to make sure land can be used for its intended purpose. For example, are there any covenants affecting the site preventing development, are the ground conditions satisfactory to accommodate usual strip foundations or are there ‘hot spots’ that require piling or indeed remediation due to contamination? Does the site have adequate access and sightlines and can the site be connected to mains water, drainage, electricity and gas or will it be necessary to negotiate specific rights with adjoining landowners or invoke statutory procedures to help out?

But on the planning side, significant changes are proposed. For example, the Localism Bill gives greater powers to neighbourhoods to promote development through Neighbourhood Development Orders and Community Right to Build Orders which will obviate the need to make a planning application. This could be a double edged sword.

The NPPF seeks to remove the emphasis on targeting brownfield sites for development and to abolish the rural exceptions policy.

The Campaign for Rural England has voiced strong concerns about the effect of the NPPF and localism on the Green Belt and rural communities. The fear is that it will be easier for developers to obtain planning to build on greenfield sites and argue for a reduction in the number of affordable homes.

For those in the property industry, policies to streamline the planning framework and encourage development are welcome, but unless we see an increased demand for both commercial and residential properties, and funding becomes more readily available on reasonable terms, then the property market will not flourish.