Property professionals have commended the government’s commitment to planning reform outlined in the King’s Speech and urged it to ensure that the next steps were taken carefully to avoid ‘industry confusion’ and a surge in planning challenges.
Kathryn Jump, partner and living sector co-head at Shoosmiths welcomed planning reform but warned that without a proper understanding of the impact on communities, local authorities could end up with a raft of legal challenges to proposed planning permissions.
“Today marks a pivotal shift towards a more pro-development approach. This recognises the importance of creating more quality, sustainable, and mixed-tenure homes, boosting residential supply across the UK, and understanding that this is central to delivering the economic growth the country needs.
“The reinstatement of mandatory housing targets and the strengthening of devolution powers are crucial first steps in accelerating housing provision. If the government aims to meet its 1.5m new homes target, it is essential that it continues to collaborate with the real estate industry to shape the next stage.
“To build confidence that the announced changes will boost the housing market as the new government hopes, the details of the legislative and policy changes need to be understood by the market. This needs to happen quickly and must begin with the proposed Planning and Infrastructure Bill. Any uncertainty around the details of the changes, and their consequences, risks depressing, rather than accelerating, the delivery of new homes.
“Planning reform, in particular, must be approached carefully to ensure that changes streamline, speed up, and better resource the system, rather than overhauling it, which could cause industry confusion and slow down any uptick in market activity. One aspect that must be considered closely is how revising the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) -expected later this year – will impact local people, as it could lead to a surge in legal challenges against the granting of planning permissions in this brave new world. Comprehensive public and industry consultation is key to avoiding the risk of legal challenges in court.
“Regarding the vision for a series of new towns, it is essential that we take lessons from the garden city movement: establishing long-term funding solutions, providing local authorities with the right financial resources and professional support, and building trust between the public and private sectors to support true cross-sector working.
“The real estate industry has remained resilient during one of the most challenging periods in recent times. It stands ready to deliver, but the mission to ‘take the brakes off Britain’ hinges on getting this next phase right – forming an approach to delivery that works for all and creates the mixed-tenure homes the UK desperately needs.”
Simon Brown, CEO at Landmark Information Group said the Property and Land data provider were ‘encouraged’ by planning reform proposals, describing them as ‘a crucial step toward unlocking economic potential.’
“Labour has the opportunity to address the complexities and fragmentation in the UK’s planning system. Systemic issues such as poor information sharing and overburdened professionals currently slow down the market. Leveraging the relevant data can identify demand hotspots and streamline development; building homes in the places people want to live and work, with the necessary infrastructure to support them.”
“Landmark looks forward to collaborating with policymakers to support these initiatives and contribute to a more efficient and effective planning process. By utilising data and encouraging cross-industry communication, together we can meet our new Government’s ambition to build 1.5 million homes under this parliament.”
Nicola Gooch, a Planning Partner at Irwin Mitchell, suggested planning reform was to be expected in this Parliament having been at the heart of the government’s growth agenda. And if it was light on detail, Gooch suggests avoiding primary legislation in favour of policy change, secondary legislation and a revised NPPF, might speed up the process of change instead of ‘getting bogged down in Parliament’. She adds
“We do have a proposed “Planning and Infrastructure Bill” referenced in the text of the speech, but its contents have been left perhaps deliberately vague. The lack of an express ‘New Towns Bill’ is perhaps a little surprising, but it may be sensible to get a little further along in deciding the location of those new settlements before the legislative framework for providing them is put in place.
That said, for all I know, this could also be the purpose of the “Planning and Infrastructure Bill”. A name like that could mean almost anything!
The real question will be whether these policies can be delivered fast enough for their effect to be felt before the end of the term. Five years is not a very long time to turn around something as complex and contentious as our planning system. It looks, however, as if the Government is, at the very least, determined to try.”
Meanwhile Senior Consultant Solicitor at Setfords Ifath Nawaz says reform has been ‘neglected’ for a few years and there are ‘concerns’ about the new resources to local authorities.
“While we welcome the proposed improvements to the planning system, which has been neglected for many years, there are real concerns that without significant new resources to support Local Authorities, the ambitious housebuilding targets in the King’s Speech cannot be delivered. Local Authorities are already struggling to attract the expertise needed in their planning departments to handle the current workload, let alone an anticipated increase in new housing developments.
“As well as more resources, they need enhanced enforcement powers to get the homes built once developments are approved, to overcome the local objections that so often frustrate new housing. We have seen in London and Manchester the benefits of powers being devolved to local administrations. The Government’s housebuilding ambitions can only be achieved with more investment and resources, particularly for local government.”
