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We need a healthy homes bill, not low-quality office conversions
The government is pushing through new freedoms to convert existing buildings to residential despite concerns about quality. This strengthens the case for healthy homes legislation, writes Jack Dangerfield
Just two months after the government announced that it plans to put local communities “at the heart of plans to make sure that new developments in their area are beautiful and well-designed”, they have confirmed their intentions to further expand permitted development rights (PDR).
The move, which will enable many buildings with commercial uses associated with our town centres to be turned into housing without planning permission, has been described as “a golden gift to unscrupulous developers”.
As a result of our and others’ campaigning, the government has made important concessions on access to natural light, minimum space standards, and other aspects of PDR. But exactly how much control, if any, will communities have to ensure that new developments in typical neighbourhoods are indeed ‘well-designed’?
And given that research commissioned by the government into the quality of homes delivered through PDR highlights the huge risks posed by loosening planning regulations, one wonders how improvements in design will be achieved given the government’s current trajectory.
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As my colleague Dr Daniel Slade highlighted in his piece for Inside Housing last September, such extensive reductions in local authority control over development only serves to add fuel to the fire and increase support for a radical change to the way we regulate the built environment.
Since September, support for one such change – a Healthy Homes Bill – has increased rapidly. We at the Town & Country Planning Association (TCPA), with the help of experts in health and the built environment, have drafted a bill that, if passed into law, would effectively outlaw sub-standard housing, whether developed using PDR or having been granted planning permission, and safeguard the health and well-being of people for generations to come.
“One wonders how improvements in design will be achieved given the government’s current trajectory”
Parliamentarians are increasingly aware that homes delivered through PDR undermine people’s health and this has been reflected in growing parliamentary support for our campaign.
An early day motion (EDM) calling on the government to insert the Healthy Homes Principles into the Building Safety Bill or future planning reform legislation has so far received cross-party support from 23 MPs.
For the EDM to be considered for debate in parliament more signatures are needed, however what it does do is demonstrate a step change in the level of support for the bill and the issues it seeks to address. To help gain more signatures for the EDM, you can find a template letter and information on how to contact your MP on the TCPA’s website.
While the campaign for a Healthy Homes Act has been making progress at the national level, it is also making significant headway locally.
We have been working alongside the online campaigning organisation 38 Degrees to launch a petition of their members living in the Liverpool City Region, which calls on its political leaders to embed the Healthy Homes Principles in the new Housing and Spatial Planning Strategy. It has so far received more than 2,700 signatures.
Clearly, this has had an impact as Liverpool City Council recently announced that it supports the campaign and that it aims to apply the Healthy Homes Principles to new developments. This follows both Lewes District Council and Norwich City Council throwing their weight behind the campaign.
The TCPA is encouraging all local authorities to help kick-start the healthy homes revolution by adopting the Healthy Homes Principles and applying them to new residential developments in their area. To help them do this, we have produced a campaign briefing for local authorities that contains a draft motion to council.
By embedding the principles in local planning policy, local authorities have the opportunity to guarantee that all new homes are built to a certain standard.
“The TCPA is encouraging all local authorities to help kick-start the healthy homes revolution by adopting the Healthy Homes Principles and applying them to new residential developments in their area”
With the Queen’s Speech and the start of a new parliamentary session being announced for 11 May, we are now turning our attention back to Westminster. The start of a new session presents several opportunities for us to change the law and ensure that all new homes support people’s health and well-being once and for all.
Subject to the outcome of the ballot, we will be supporting Lord Nigel Crisp to bring forward the Healthy Homes Bill as a Private Members Bill in the House of Lords. We will also be working with Parliamentarians from across the political spectrum to amend the Building Safety Bill and expected planning reform legislation to try to secure reference to the Healthy Homes Principles.
The government’s latest plans to further expand PDR only serve to increase support for a radical change to the way we regulate the built environment to protect people’s health and well-being, and, we hope, the next few months present a genuine opportunity for that radical change
Jack Dangerfield, project assistant, TCPA
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