The Environment Bill becomes law

PDP_Environment Bill

Andrew Stock, part of the PDP Planning team, takes a look at the Environment Act, what it is and what it means for the planning system.

Almost two years after the Environment Bill had its first reading it has now been passed into law, becoming the Environment Act 2021. The Act will, amongst many other things, from November 2023 require all planning permissions larger than householder permissions to deliver 10% net gains in biodiversity as part of the overall development.

The Act makes provision for targets, plans and policies for improving the natural environment; for statements and reports about environmental protection; for the Office for Environmental Protection; about waste and resource efficiency; about air quality; for the recall of products that fail to meet environmental standards; about water; about nature and biodiversity; for conservation covenants; about the regulation of chemicals; and for connected purposes.

Tony Juniper, Chair of Natural England, commented that the Environment Act is the most ground-breaking piece of environmental legislation in many years and goes on to state that “For the first time an Act will set clear statutory targets for the recovery of the natural world in four priority areas: air quality, biodiversity, water and waste, and includes an important new target to reverse the decline in species abundance by the end of 2030.”

Biodiversity net gain (BNG) will aim to deliver measurable improvements for biodiversity by creating or enhancing habitats in associated developments. For a simple overview of biodiversity net gain, Natural England has produced a short video illustrating what biodiversity net gain is and how it can be achieved:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVR9VZYkMLc

A biodiversity metric will provide a means of assessing the changes in biodiversity value (losses or gains) brought about by development. The metric will establish the baseline condition of a site which will be important to establish whether a site can or cannot demonstrate 10% net gains in biodiversity on-site.

If there is no scope to provide the relevant net gains on-site then developers will be able to deliver off-site compensation through local habitat creation. The government is to establish a publicly available register of compensatory habitat sites for developers to offset any residual net gains, and where suitable local projects are not available the Environment Act allows investment into government biodiversity sites located nationwide.

It marks one of the first steps in the government’s overarching vision for leaving nature in a better state for the next generation, and to confirm the UK’s approach to environmental governance post-Brexit.

Full details of matters contained in the Environment Act 2021 can be found here:

Andrew Stock, Principal Planner, Planning & Design Practice Ltd

What is First Homes and how does it work?

PDP_First Homes

First Homes is a new scheme, which came into effect on the 28th June 2021, that has been introduced by the government to help first time home buyers onto the property ladder. The scheme requires councils to provide a new form of discounted housing for first-time buyers (and key workers). Thus, First Homes can be viewed as a type of affordable housing.

To qualify as a First Home, a property will need to be sold with a minimum discount of 30 per cent against the market value. However local authorities and neighbourhood planning groups can increase this discount to 40% or 50% if they can prove that there is a need for this. Once the discount has been applied, the first sale of the property must not be higher than £250,000, or £420,000 in Greater London.

The discount that is applied to First Homes will be passed onto all future purchasers of the property, meaning First Homes will always be sold below the market price. For example, if you buy a house through First Homes with a 40% discount, the house has to be re-sold with a 40% discount. Therefore, if the house was bought for £120,000 but it is worth £200,000, when it is re-sold for £240,000, the capital gain for the homeowner will not be £40,000 but £24,000 instead. With a lower capital gain, it will be difficult for homebuyers to progress up the property ladder. Furthermore, local authorities can restrict who can buy these homes and who they can be sold to, which is not only first buyers but certain key groups only too (e.g. teachers or nurses). As only a limited group of people can buy these properties, the difficulty of reselling is further heightened, and it is unlikely that these properties will increase in price.

Under the scheme, First Homes must account for at least 25% of affordable housing sold by developers. This is supported via a Section 106 agreement/planning obligation, a legal agreement between developers and local planning authorities to reduce the impacts of a development proposal. However, this could lead to negative impacts on the housing market.

How will the scheme affect other forms of affordable housing including shared ownership?

When a home is bought through the shared ownership scheme, it means a share of the property is bought and rent is paid on the rest. As First Homes must account for 25% of affordable housing sold by developers, a decrease will be seen in other types of affordable housing, including shared ownership. A reduction in affordable rented properties will have negative impacts on those who it does not suit to buy a house. Furthermore, the scheme is only applicable to new builds, which can have a premium price, consequently meaning the discount of First Homes may not have that big an impact. Therefore, it can be asked, will this new affordable housing scheme push out genuinely affordable housing options.

At Planning & Design we work with developers of all sizes, from small companies working on one property at a time to large housebuilders and commercial organisations where multi-million pound schemes are the norm. We have established a strong reputation for providing honest and sound commercial advice, skilled presentation, advocacy and negotiation. For more information, or to discuss how we could help with a specific project or property please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Housing numbers – The government’s ‘U’ turn and re-think

PDP_Urban Uplift

The government sets a minimum housing figure for each Local Planning Authority in England. The figure is derived using the ‘standard method’ and it takes into account the need to build 300,000 new homes a year and takes into account the cost of housing with the aim of providing more housing in areas of high demand.

Using Office for National Statistics figures on new household formation, an algorithm calculates broadly the minimum number of houses that should be built each year for each local authority and this figure is also used to judge the delivery of housing, and whether extra measures are required to boost the supply of housing.

Residential housing numbers are controversial and the standard model approach has led to many conservative controlled councils’ having to accommodate large numbers of new homes and this has affected the Government’s core vote.

The anger against the outcomes of the standard model has been the driver for change but the collapse of the High Street and with the need to meet climate change; the government have decided to reduce the amount of housing built in rural districts and in the Home Counties but to increase building in the 20 largest towns and cities including London. These urban areas will have to boost housing supply by 35% with a focus on redeveloping previously developed land, converting buildings in city centres and increasing densities.

Set out below is a chart taken from a recent lecture held in Derbyshire which shows how house numbers have fallen for most authorities but rise steeply in Derby.

Housing Numbers

For most councils’, new local plans will need to allocate less land for housing, housing delivery targets will be much easier to achieve and the opportunity for speculative development will be less. However for large urban areas the pressure will be on; how combined authorities will re-act to this change is difficult to gauge, but established relationships between cities and their hinterland could be placed under stain as smaller edge of city authorities seek to protect their residents from the impact of new housing. In addition Covid has shown us the importance of minimum space standards and private open space. Combining better housing, increasing housing numbers but using less land will be a challenge indeed.

Jonathan Jenkin, Managing Director, Planning & Design Practice Ltd

Gear Change – ‘A bold vision for cycling’ Part I

PDP_Gear Change

In July 2020, the government released their visionary plan ‘Gear Change – A bold vision for cycling and walking’.

As the PM says in his introduction to the proposed scheme, cycling and walking means less pollution and noise for everyone, but also more trade for street-front business among other things. Planning-wise the government’s intention is to activate the creation of low traffic neighbourhoods, protected bike lanes, new bus and bike corridors. It also takes into account that not everyone can or wants to cycle, so they are also investing in new roads, buses and railways.

The commitments in the plan (which will be funded by the £2bn of new money announced earlier this year for walking and cycling) include:

  • Transforming infrastructure
  • Boosting investment
  • Making streets safer
  • Supporting local authorities
  • Improving air quality and reducing traffic by creating more low traffic neighbourhoods and creating at least one zero-emission transport city centre
  • Helping people live healthier lives by piloting a new approach in selected places with poor health rates to encourage GPs to prescribe cycling, with patients able to access bikes through their local surgery
  • Increasing access to e-bikes by setting up a new national e-bike programme, to help those who are older, have to travel long distances or are less fit to take up cycling

My commute to work – The numbers:

During the last 6 months I have on average ridden to work twice per week which means :

  • Average 32 miles by bike a week
  • 1.5 hours of exercise /commuting day
  • 1.3 litres of fuel per day saved
  • Saved £1.50/ day in fuel or £5/ day train fares
  • Avoided 2.62 Kg of CO2/ day or 135 Kg of CO2 across 6 months
  • Consumed 500 Kcal/ journey

I have to admit that riding in some days has been hard with the rain and wind, however that’s not my everyday ride, and as well as that I have enjoyed the beautiful landscape Fig2. of Derbyshire, which is a wonderful way of unwinding after a day’s work. In the next article, I will explain more about the government’s new policy and how this might impact planning and our built environment in the future.

Fernando Collado Lopez, Architect, Planning & Design Practice Ltd

Growth, renewal and protection

PDP_Growth Renewal Protection

The government’s proposals put forward by Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick to identify areas for ‘Growth’, ‘Renewal’ and ‘Protection’ with corresponding levels of planning control raise some interesting dilemmas.

The planning system is based on local communities developing a Local Plan for themselves which sets out the priorities for growth and development within an area supplemented by neighbourhood plans. Some strategic planning does take place in areas such a Greater Manchester but strategic planning was undermined by the ‘Localism Agenda’ developed by a previous Conservative Government to hand planning control ‘back to the people’.

Local Authorities will be ordered to identify areas for growth, renewal and protection. In areas of growth, development will be able to proceed without planning permission. In areas of renewal there will be permission in principle but with oversight from the local community to address issues such as flood risk, design, impact on transport and highways. In areas of protection the current planning rules will continue.

This approach could undermine the localism agenda and the whole local plan process. In areas of growth, with no planning rules, identified local plan sites for development could remain undeveloped while poorly designed, poor quality development which provides no funding to support local services and facilities could be built next door. Nothing the government has said will ensure that the Building Better agenda would be followed through in a growth area. There is also no indication that basic standards would be met in terms of minimum dwelling sizes or space about dwelling standards. Incompatible uses could be placed next to each other and a growth area like the Enterprise Zones of the 1970s could be used to undermine the social and economic fabric of a community.

This approach could also reinforce social division. Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Green Belt, Heritage coasts and other designated areas have strict controls on new development while Conservation Areas and World Heritage Sites place strict controls over design and protection of the built environment. These areas are also expensive places in which to buy property and they have the effect of creating social division. Areas of protection are likely to equate to these areas but also to rural and coastal areas where there are high house values so that those whose voices ‘count’ are offered a system that protects their local area. For example the localism agenda might continue in the Home Counties, using full planning controls with perhaps growth areas in east London, the Medway Towns and ethnically diverse areas such as Luton and Slough. In the north in settlements such as Middlesbrough, Barnsley, Rochdale, and Blackpool large parts of their towns and cities could be identified as growth areas and in doing so the opportunity for people living and working in those locations to retain control over their environment through planning control would be removed. This could have the effect of removing control from the very people least able to exert control over their own lives. This creates inequity, one rule for one and one rule for another. It undermines society and it is a very dangerous direction of travel.

Without planning control there is no requirement to fund local services and facilities. This could make the provision of local services in poor areas where the need is greatest far more difficult with schools overwhelmed, health services stretched and the quality of the local environment made even poorer.

Before this system is introduced I urge the government to think again. Covid-19 has already exposed social, educational and health divisions in our society. The proposed changes in the planning system will only cement these divisions.

We need well planned cities and towns and equal levels of service. We need a green decarbonising agenda and we need to improve the quality of life and the wellness of every citizen of the UK, not just the wealthy few.

Jonathan Jenkin, Managing Director, Planning & Design Practice Ltd

Main Image: Thanks to Cactus Images

Planning for the future

Planning for the Future

On the 12th March the government published a policy paper ‘Planning for the Future’ which sets out its plans for housing and planning following announcements in the 2020 Budget.

The paper starts with a reaffirmation of its support for home ownership and its commitment to re-building a home owning Britain. It also promises that young people and future generations will have the same opportunities as those who came before them.

The Government set out its plan for four publications:

  1. A new White Paper on planning reform
  2. A building safety bill
  3. A renter’s reform bill
  4. A social housing white paper

The government acknowledge that it does have a role to ensure security of tenure for those who do not own their own homes and the need to prevent homelessness and build more affordable homes. A social housing white paper will look at social housing and the needs of tenants while the building safety bill will ensure tighter building control and possibly reforms of the system to prevent a repeat of Grenfell.

The government wants to promote more development where it is needed. New proposals include:

  • Encouraging increased densities in urban areas
  • £400m for brownfield regeneration
  • Creation of a national brownfield map and a call to build above railway stations
  • Changing the formula to calculate local housing need in and around urban areas to deliver 300,000 new homes
  • New permitted development rights to build upwards on existing buildings by the summer of 2020
  • Consultation on new permitted development rights to allow demolition of existing vacant commercial, industrial and residential buildings and their replacement with well- designed new residential units
  • Support for self-build and community construction
  • Support for the Oxford Cambridge Arc including a new spatial development framework and up to 4 new development corporations

The government wants to ensure that sufficient land is available to deliver homes where they are needed:

  • All LPAs to have an up to date Local Plan in place by December 2023
  • Raising the housing delivery test to 75% in November 2020
  • Reforming the New Homes Bonus

The government pledge a commitment to ‘infrastructure first’

  • Investing in infrastructure to unlock up to 70,000 new homes
  • Creating a new £10bn single Housing Infrastructure Fund

The government want to speed up the Planning system by:-

  • Maximising the potential of new technologies
  • Reforming planning fees to ensure that planning authorities are properly resourced.
  • Rebates where planning applications are successful on appeal
  • The government will act to make it clearer who owns land to encourage the build out of sites
  • Expanding the use of Local Development Orders to simplify granting of planning permission in selected areas.
  • Improving the effectiveness of Compulsory Purchase Orders to aid land assembly and infrastructure delivery

The government wants to help first time buyers by:

  • The ‘First Homes Scheme’ will lower the cost of many new homes by a third and the discount will be locked into the property in perpetuity
  • Help to create fixed rate long term mortgages
  • Creation of a new national shared ownership model

The Government also wants to build better, more beautiful places by:

  • Revisions to the NPPF to embed the principles of good design and place making
  • Respond to the Building Better, Building Beautiful commissions report
  • Using the National Model Design Code to promote the production of local design codes and guides.
  • Review the policies regarding building in flood zones
  • Introduction of a Future Homes standard reducing carbon emissions from new homes by 80%
  • Establishing a net zero development around Toton between Derby and Nottingham.

This list of proposals is ambitious but there is no mention of regional or strategic planning which has the potential to direct development to where it is really needed. However the ambition is to be welcomed, but some of the proposals such as building upwards run counter to improved building safety, heritage restrictions and other constraints and may be limited to very specific locations.

Jonathan Jenkin, Managing Director, Planning & Design Practice Ltd

Improving tall building safety following Grenfell

PDP_Tall Building Safety

(This article is taken from the ‘The Planner’ Dated 7th April 2020.)

Late last week, housing secretary Robert Jenrick announced a series of measures comprising what he called ‘the biggest change in building safety for a generation” to building safety systems.

Jenrick said the measures include mandatory sprinkler systems and consistent wayfinding signage in all new high-rise blocks of flats over 11 metres tall/three storeys in height – dramatically reducing the height at which such systems are required.

The reforms are designed to incentivise compliance and better enable the use of enforcement powers and sanctions – including prosecution where the rules are not followed.

The housing secretary will also hold a round table with mortgage lenders to work on an approach to mortgage valuations for properties in buildings under 18 metres tall, with the aim of providing certainty for owners affected by building safety work.

He said: “The government is bringing about the biggest change in building safety for a generation. We have made a major step towards this by publishing our response to the Building a Safer Future consultation. This new regime will put residents’ safety at its heart and follows the announcement of the unprecedented £1 billion fund for removing unsafe cladding from high-rise buildings in the Budget.

“We are also announcing that the housing industry is designing a website so lenders and leaseholders can access the information needed to proceed with sales and re-mortgaging, and the government stands ready to help to ensure this work is completed at pace.

“Building safety is a priority and the government is supporting industry in ensuring homes are safe at this difficult time.”

These new measures build on a series of recent declarations:

  • An announcement in The Budget of £1 billion of funding in 2020/21 to support the remediation of unsafe non-ACM cladding materials on high-rise buildings. This is in addition to the £600 million already available for remediation of high-rise buildings with unsafe ACM cladding.
  • The proposed naming of building owners who have been slow to act in removing unsafe ACM cladding.
  • Introduction of the fire safety bill, which constitutes a step further in delivering the recommendations of the Grenfell Inquiry’s phase one report.

The latest non-ACM (aluminium composite material) cladding testing results have also been published. They show that none of the materials, including high-pressure laminate (HPL) and timber cladding, behaved in the same way as ACM. The government is making it clear that any unsafe materials should be removed from buildings quickly. External wall systems on high-rise buildings using class C or D HPL panels are unsafe and should be removed, as they do not comply with building regulations.

We welcome these measures to improve tall building safety and they should ensure (once implemented) that external cladding will never again pose a threat to occupiers. The introduction of sprinklers should also reduce the incidence of fire within individual flats, particularly caused by white goods (the source of the Grenfell fire), and the proposed introduction of clear way marking, will provide residents with a clear route for escape if smoke becomes a problem or if there is a power cut.

Jonathan Jenkin, Consultant, Planning & Design Practice Ltd

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