The Queen opened Parliament for the 67th time today. Her speech outlining the Government's priorities for the next Parliamentary session naturally focused on the post-pandemic recovery, a big part of which is levelling up and building more homes.
The hotly anticipated Planning Bill got some good coverage. Our sovereign summarised it as “laws to modernise the planning system, so that more homes can be built", but it could potentially go much further than that.
Whilst we await the long-promised government response to the Planning White Paper, the documents accompanying the Speech shed a bit more (but not much) light on the changes taken forward.
Plan to succeed
The aim is to create a simpler, faster and more modern planning system that is less document-based and more digital and map-based. A big part of that is the radical overhaul of the local plan system. Recent reports in the press have suggested that the "renewal" zone may be dropped so that there are only two zones in new local plans:
- Growth - where new homes and development will be fast-tracked; and
- Protected - where a more cautious approach to development will be taken.
So what will a faster system in Growth areas mean in practice? One concern has been that there will be less consultation and public engagement as this is focused on the local plan making stage. Today's publication stresses that there will be more, not less, engagement and that new rules will mean that planning applications and policies can be better understood by the public.
One of the key aims is to add more clarity and certainty for communities and developers about what is permitted and particularly on design, a common reason for refusal. There have been reservations within the industry as to the impact of pattern books on the design fabric of our country. It will be interesting to see the government's proposed approach to this often contentious issue.
Taxing times
Concerns and criticism over the proposed shift from section 106 agreements to a new developer contribution levy featured heavily in the 44,000 responses to the White Paper. That doesn't appear to have derailed the government's plans.
It is pushing forwards with the levy, at least on affordable housing and infrastructure contributions. With all of the problems that the community infrastructure levy (CIL) presented, and still continues to produce, we hope that lessons have been learnt on the need to consider the complexities of development when introducing the detailed rules on the levy.
What about environmental protection?
There was a lot of controversy over whether the plans to streamline the environmental impact assessment process were really a 'dumbing down' of environmental protection. Some clarification comes in the explanation that new, quicker and simpler mechanisms for assessing environmental impacts will in fact "enhance and protect" the environment.
More detail is needed of course, but with the Environment Bill also on the Parliamentary timetable, it sounds as though it is the mechanics of assessment, rather than the criteria and environmental standards that will be reformed.
Prepare for planning utopia?
The government, like practically all those before it in recent times, continues with its eternal quest for a utopian planning system. A modern and efficient system continues to be seen as the panacea to cure the housing crisis, reboot the economy and level up. Whether a fundamental restructuring of the planning system will actually achieve all that remains to be seen.
We hope that as more detail is released and the specifics debated, Parliament (heavily supported by the development industry) can shape the reforms in a way that gives them the best chance of success.
