Planning Speed Read: More regulatory bonfires promised plus a round up of announcements and recent cases
18th October, 2024
Our regular update for those who work in and alongside the planning sector. We aim to keep you, and your teams informed of changes in legislation, important cases signposting to the guidance and providing our own insights and experience.
Labour promises to remove regulations blocking new homes and infrastructure
At the International Investment Summit earlier this week, Keir Starmer claimed that current “regulations” are holding back investments needed for building homes, data centres, warehouses, grid connectors, roads and trainlines. Starmer stated that the Government will “rip out the bureaucracy that blocks investment” having cited the planning system as one of those blocks, giving the example of the East Anglia 2 wind farm DCO and citing that regulators demanded 4,000 planning documents for the scheme.
It is however not at all clear what bureaucracy Labour envisages removing, much of which in the planning system is bound up in an ever increasingly complex need to respond to the climate crisis.
The Government has already flagged their intention to introduce new legislation to promote growth through the planning system, citing plans to speed up the NSIP process, to introduce a national system of delegation in respect of determining planning applications, and to re-introduce strategic planning. The draft revised NPPF also aims to promote growth by making provision for new, expanded or upgraded facilities and infrastructure to support the growth of knowledge and data driven, creative or high technology industries, including data centres and grid connections. It is not clear therefore what the Prime Minister’s speech signals over and above what has already been identified, the details of which are now awaited.
A 100% affordable housing scheme allowed on appeal
The scheme was an outline proposal for up to 210 dwellings all of which were to be delivered as affordable housing. Schemes delivering that amount of affordable housing with no market housing, particularly at outline stage, are not common and LPAs are not always supportive. Indeed, in the present case the LPA was critical as to whether the number of affordable homes proposed was needed at that particular location and expressed concerns in respect of potential voids. The LPA also made arguments around the scheme not achieving a mixed and balanced community. However the Inspector gave short shrift to both of these concerns, stating “there is no substantive evidence indicating that people will not be prepared to travel to meet their needs” and noting that while there was no market housing as part of the scheme, the scheme itself was adjacent to other developments, enabling a mixed community to develop. Helpfully, the Inspector stated that “there is no substantive evidence, despite the face value policy tension, to show that the absence of market housing will mean that the development will not in practice lead to a mixed and balanced community that encourages social cohesion and inclusion and reduce inequalities”.
The Inspector held the delivery of the affordable housing at great value giving it “very substantial positive weight” in determining the appeal, stating that the scheme would make a “considerable contribution to the delivery of affordable homes beyond sources accounted for in both authorities”.
While Inspector’s decisions do not carry the same precedence value as case law, they can nonetheless be helpful in determining applications with a LPA or at appeal. The above comments would likely be useful in most cases where an applicant is seeking to persuade a reluctant LPA to recommend approving a 100% affordable scheme.
To read the full decision please click here.
Funding for brownfield sites: allowing thousands of new homes to be built
This week the government has announced that £68 million will go directly to 54 councils for the use of turning vacant brownfield land into new homes, enabling 5,200 homes to be built. The funding is to be released through the Brownfield Land Release Fund meaning Councils will be able to pay for decontamination, clearing disused buildings or improving infrastructure. Clearance and decontamination of brownfield sites can often be an obstacle in developing such sites, rendering such developments unviable and therefore the additional funding is to be welcomed.
At the same time, the Government also announced a £30 million investment into the transformation of the Riverside Sunderland area to help deliver 1000 new homes, new community infrastructure and one million square feet of office space.
For more information please click here and here.
Planning Inspectorate (PINS) under a magnifying glass
PINS have been in the planning news recently due to their changes to guidance in respect of the need for an executed s106 planning obligation to be submitted with the appeal in respect of a written representations appeal. Additionally a recent survey conducted by PINS showed that although a third of users believe PINS lack customer focus, 75% believe the body makes ‘high quality’ decisions.
The survey responses have been reviewed by PINS and they are now focusing on how to better implement their 3 year strategic plan.
To view The Planning Inspectorate Strategic Plan 2021-2025 please click here.
The House of Commons debate on community benefits from renewable energy projects
This week the Commons discussed the community benefits packages paid on a voluntary basis by developers of energy infrastructure. Such packages fall outside of the scope of planning obligations and do not comprise material planning considerations as has previously been confirmed by case law, however they may be viewed by the developer as key to securing community buy-in to the proposed development. The previous Government had promised to publish an updated community benefits protocol for onshore wind in England having carried out a consultation in 2023 but this wasn’t published prior to the general election. The Labour Government has now promised that it will shortly publish such updated guidance.
For more information please click here.
Please note that this briefing is designed to be informative, not advisory and represents our understanding of English law and practice as at the date indicated. We would always recommend that you should seek specific guidance on any particular legal issue.
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