12 COMMENT
certainty of success because many local authorities are now in a position whereby they either have an adopted lan that is more than fi ve years old, requiring them to use a substantially increased housing need fi gure set out in the overnment’s new standard methodology; or are preparing a new ocal lan to meet this increased housing need.
GREEN BELT
The overnment has made signifi cant changes in relation to green belt policy. Notably the new NF includes a requirement for an authority unable to meet housing needs without altering a green belt boundary to undertake a ‘green belt review.’ The concept of ‘grey belt’ land will be fundamental to meeting our housing needs. The NF provides clarity on what land would qualify as a grey belt.
The overnment’s proposed golden rules for releasing reen elt land remain: however the NF has been updated at paragraph to require As to set specifi c affordable housing requirement for major housing development on land which is proposed to be released from the reen elt, or which may be permitted on reen elt land. This percentage requirement should be higher than land outside the reen elt and require at least 0 affordable subject to viability. ntil these local plan policies are adopted, paragraph 1 requires a 1 percentage point top-up on the lan’s currently adopted affordable policy, capped at 0.
NEED FOR GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION IN HOUSEBUILDING To streamline the planning process, the overnment has also announced proposals to modernise planning committees, including the possibility of limiting the number of councillors involved in decision-making and a two- tier system of planning committees. Meeting the 1. million homes target will inevitably create a signifi cant challenge and a pressing need for effective overnment intervention in plan-making and decision-taking. As various local authorities have expressed scepticism about the achievability of new
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housing need targets, proactive measures will be required for the overnment to even get close to its target. ne of the challenges for the overnment will be to decipher which local authorities are deliberately stalling in their plan-making, and which are failing because of a chronic lack of resources and funding.
n response to these challenges, the NF’s transitional arrangements were updated at paragraph 23. As of 12 March 202, the NF came into full effect, marking the start of its new planning policies for local authorities. ocal lanning Authorities As were required to have progressed their ocal lans to the eg. 19 stage by 12 March, provided the draft housing requirement met at least 0 of local housing needs previously, the benchmark was for a lan to be within 200 dpa of the local need fi gure or had submitted their lan to the Secretary of State. Many As are now revisiting their housing land supply to ensure that their plans align with the new criteria. aragraph 23 introduces consequences for As that submitted lans under the transitional arrangements but failed to meet at least 0 of the identifi ed housing need. For those As that reached the eg. 19 stage before 12 March with a draft housing requirement below 0, they are now required to proceed to examination within 1 months of 12 December 202 or face potential intervention by the Secretary of State.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT OF POLICY CHANGES n the short term at least, an inevitable consequence will be an increase in speculative planning applications. Developers will put forward speculative planning applications with greater
nvariably planning committees will resist such development particularly if it is at odds with their adopted ocal lan; or if it runs against some councillors’ long-held views that no green belt land should be released. n such circumstances, we expect it very likely that the overnment will call in such applications and decide in their favour. Expect high profi le schemes to receive a positive determination from the Secretary of State demonstrating to planning committees that NMism must not trump housing needs as it did under the previous administration.
Expect also to see a rise in the number of planning permissions granted at appeal. Some local authorities, nervous of the political impact of increased development, will likely resist granting planning permission; and developers, more confi dent of success, will appeal in larger numbers. This will put increased pressure on the lanning nspectorate and the government may need to consider increasing resourcing and funding for the lanning nspectorate to mitigate delay.
There may be a point in the future when planning policy is suitably changed to allow large-scale development to take place, but then what n the last few years supply lines have adapted to the number of homes currently being built, which is signifi cantly below target. We don’t have enough construction workers, bricklayers and roofers let alone manufacturers and installers of air source heat pumps to deliver a 0 increase in volume.
CONCLUSION
ack to today: despite the publication of this key piece of planning policy, the government’s programme of planning reforms has only just begun: in 202 we anticipate a lanning and nfrastructure ill; a suite of National Development Management olicies NDMs to streamline and accelerate the determination of planning applications, by avoiding the need for local plans to duplicate NDMs, and decisions following a series of planning working papers, the fi rst of which have recently been published. t is certainly set to be an eventful year for planning and development.
Lawrence Turner is director of Boyer (part of Leaders Romans Group)
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