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Jenrick announces major overhaul to planning system

Housing secretary Robert Jenrick has set out proposed changes to the planning system, including making it easier for developers to demolish vacant properties and build homes above existing buildings, while looking to further incentivise council planning departments to support the development of more homes.

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Housing secretary Robert Jenrick
Housing secretary Robert Jenrick
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Plans include making it easier for developers to demolish vacant properties and build homes above existing buildings #ukhousing

“We must think boldly and creatively about the planning system to make it fit for the future,” says @RobertJenrick #ukhousing

Speaking in the House of Commons today, Mr Jenrick said the government is consulting on plans to allow developers to demolish vacant commercial, industrial and residential buildings and replace them with well-designed homes without being delayed during the planning process. 

Meanwhile, councils will be encouraged to ensure that the redevelopment of high streets is housing led by building upwards and above and around stations. 

Mr Jenrick said the government will also review the formula for calculating local housing need in order to encourage more building in urban areas. 

Alongside the speech, the government released a document titled ’Planning for the Future’ which set out the government’s other proposals for planning reform. Within this, the government has now set a deadline of December 2023 for all councils to have up-to-date local plans, warning that the government would intervene if this deadline is not met.

In November the government is also set to increase the housing delivery threshold for councils from 45% to 75% of the target number of homes the government deems need to be delivered in the local authority’s localities.


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If a council falls short of the target percentage, the planning policy for that area will be “presumption in favour of development” with less control over decisions for the local authority.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will also review the New Homes Bonus for councils which looks to reward those councils that build more homes through providing extra funding. The spring review will look to further incentivise local authorities to build.

A greater focus will be placed on building on brownfield sites, and next month the government will launch a register of brownfield sites to encourage councils to make the most of this land first.

This will be backed by the £400m Brownfield Housing Fund, announced by chancellor Rishi Sunak in yesterday’s Budget. 

The announcements come ahead of the upcoming Planning White Paper, which Mr Jenrick advised would be released in the spring. 

During his speech Mr Jenrick also confirmed the government’s commitment to bringing forward a Renters Reform Bill, which will abolish so-called ‘no fault’ evictions, and the Social Housing White Paper.

The long-awaited Social Housing White Paper is expected later this year, with the Conservative manifesto promising it will “empower tenants and support the continued supply of social homes”.

The housing secretary said: “I want everyone, no matter where they live, to have access to affordable, safe, quality housing and live in communities with a real sense of place – as part of our mission to level-up, unite and unleash the potential of this country.

“We must think boldly and creatively about the planning system to make it fit for the future, and this is just the first step, so we can deliver the homes communities need and help more young people onto the ladder.”

Jenrick’s planning reforms: the key changes at a glance

Planning reforms

  • Introduce new permitted development rights for building upwards on existing buildings by summer 2020
  • Consult on potential permitted development rights to allow vacant buildings to be demolished and replaced with new homes
  • New support for community and self-build housing schemes, including support finding plots of land
  • Support the Oxford-Cambridge arc by setting up a new spatial framework for the area, setting out where housing will be delivered up to 2050, and create four development corporations across the region

Housing Delivery Test

  • Review the formula for calculating local housing need to encourage more building in urban areas
  • Require all local authorities to have an up-to-date local plan by 2023 or government will intervene
  • Continue with plans to raise the Housing Delivery Test threshold to 75% in November 2020
  • Reform the New Homes Bonus to ensure local authorities that build more homes have access to greater funding

Planning departments

  • Implement new planning fee structure to better resource planning authorities and link funding to improved performance
  • Provide automatic rebates of fees when planning applications are successful at appeal
  • Expand the use of zoning tools to support development that is aimed at simplifying the process of granting planning permission for residential and commercial property
  • Make it clearer who owns land by requiring greater transparency on land options
  • Support local authorities to use compulsory purchase orders by introducing statutory timescales for decisions and ending the automatic right to public inquiry

Homeownership

  • Continue with the proposed First Homes scheme, which offers eligible first-time buyers new homes at prices discounted by a third
  • Form partnerships with developers and local authorities to be the frontrunners for delivering the first wave of new homes

Design

  • Revise National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to encourage good design and placemaking throughout the planning process
  • Respond to the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission and take forward recommendations calling for urban tree-planting and giving communities more influence over design
  • Implement a new National Design Code to allow residents of communities to have more influence over design. Allow local areas to produce their own design codes for new development.

Climate and sustainability

  • Review policy for building in areas at flood risk by assessing whether current NPPF protections are enough and whether further reform is needed
  • Introduce Future Homes Standard in 2025, which will require up to 80% lower carbon emissions for new homes
  • Create a new net zero carbon housing development in Toton in the East Midlands through a development corporation
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