PLANNING
FURTHER COMMENT ON THE NPPF
Malcolm Chumbley, head of UK Development Agency at Cluttons: “The NPPF we now have is a concise, sensible and stable framework which will put pressure on councils to develop local plans which meet the social, economic and environmental demands in their areas.
“Although the NPPF does indicate that planning authorities should normally approve planning applications changing commercial buildings to residential use, we believe the government back-tracked on earlier promises having caved-in to councils and their lobbyists. More could have been done to provide more housing, more quickly by allowing the very many empty commercial properties to be converted without the need for extra consents.”
Liz Peace, Chief Executive of the BPF: “We believe the NPPF is now a more moderate and sensible document. The changes to the framework do not, however, alter its overall objective of supporting well-planned sustainable growth within a streamlined, plan-led system. What’s needed now is clarity
over how the NPPF is going to be implemented. Urgent questions remain over how local authorities should determine how many homes and jobs they need, and what the guidance that underpins the NPPF should be.”
Adam Challis, Head of Research at Hamptons International: “The pro -v- anti debate on housing provision has been antiquated and genuinely misses the key social impacts. Rather than ‘concreting the countryside’, the planning system has been successfully ‘de-greening our cities’ instead.”
“It is about time that we get real about housing need, as
current actions on all sides fall woefully short of what is required to improve housing delivery volumes.”
Steven Lees, Director at SmartNewHomes: “The Government is right to prioritise the development of brownfield land and housebuilders are well versed in creating sustainable developments out of these sites as they have done for years, with 75% of new home schemes being built on previously
developed land. If 250,000 homes were built every year for 25 years, only 1% of England’s land mass would be used.”
Philip Robin, Director in Jones Lang LaSalle’s Planning team: “The UK is a small island, and the lack of inclusion of any form of regional planning guidance will not assist the underlying objective to promote sustainable economic development, much needed to help the country emerge from the current
economic situation and to protect and promote the UK longer term position in the world economy. This policy vacuum needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.”
34 MAY 2012 PROPERTYdrum
Paul Smith, Director of Apex Planning Consultants: “The reduction in regulation is quite simply breathtaking. Years of planning guidelines have been thrown onto a latter-day bonfire of the inanities. For years the planning process has had a reputation for being confusing, bureaucratic and slow, but the arrival of the pared down Planning Policy Framework is no guarantee that things will get simpler.”
Philip Lewis, Regional Director and Chief Planner at environmental specialist Atmos Consulting: “It would seem that these changes are geared towards meeting the demand for more housing in the South East, where they will encourage edge-of-town development, and they are unlikely fundamentally to change the planning system in the long term. The issues holding back larger and infrastructure development have not really been addressed, nor have the economic needs of other parts of the country.”
Richard Tamayo, Commercial Director at NHBC: “The new planning framework and recently-announced first time buyers’ mortgage initiative are both important steps in empowering the private sector – the current engine of growth for housing numbers – to produce the volume of homes the country urgently needs. However, other challenges still remain, around for example zero carbon homes. NHBC is committed to supporting government and the industry to ensure that the next generation of homes is built to high standards and meet the demands of today’s new home buyers.”
Jeremy Blackburn, RICS Head of UK Policy: “The NPPF provides a robust framework alongside existing national policy statements and we are optimistic that sustainable development can be delivered. Carefully targeted professional guidance and detailed good practice notes will be central in supporting the process and this is a job for RICS and the other professions. The time has come to stop talking and start delivering the development and growth UK Plc so badly needs.”
Andrew Burgess, Planning Director at Churchill Retirement Living: “We are particularly pleased to see the specific clauses putting the onus on local authorities to reflect future demographics when drawing up their Local Plans. Moving to an apartment specifically designed for independent older people can reduce loneliness and engender a real community spirit, sadly missing in wider society.”
Rebecca Bennett Casserly, Head of Affordable Housing at Built Asset Consultancy EC Harris: “The NPPF includes a welcome focus on the provision of new homes in a period of unprecedented under supply and affordability pressures. However, simplification will only reap reward if the “how” to implement the framework is articulated rapidly and does not in itself create a time lag.”
Paul Clarke is Partner, Planning Division, Bidwells.
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