Senior figures in the built environment industry have welcomed plans unveiled by the government today (13 February) to speed up the delivery of housing on brownfield sites and extend the use of permitted development rights (PDR).
Under the proposed shake-up to the planning regime, local authorities will be told to prioritise brownfield developments and be less bureaucratic and more flexible in applying policies that relate to housebuilding on brownfield land.
Planning authorities in England’s 20 largest cities and towns will be made to follow a ‘brownfield presumption’ if housebuilding drops below expected levels, which the government said would make it easier to get permission to build on previously developed brownfield sites.
The government also intends to extend the existing permitted development rights regime, allowing commercial buildings of any size to be converted into new homes. A consultation on the proposals was launched today and will run until Tuesday 26 March. The government said it intended to implement the changes to national planning policy as soon as possible.
Mark Allan, chief executive of Landsec, said: “We’ve been campaigning for planning reform to support brownfield urban regeneration along with British Land for the past few months. A lot of what we’ve been campaigning for is included in tomorrow’s announcement, and we believe that reframing the planning system in this way will deliver more homes and secure better outcomes for cities and the people who live in them.”
Simon Carter, chief executive of British Land, added: “Today’s announcement is another important step towards unlocking the potential of brownfield urban regeneration. British Land has consistently advocated for practical, deliverable planning reform which prioritises brownfield development, accelerates the pace of housing delivery and helps to secure long-term sustainable growth, by intensifying development in urban areas where it is needed most.”
David Thomas, chief executive of Barratt Developments, said: “We welcome any efforts to make it easier to get planning permission, particularly for brownfield regeneration which is already naturally a more complicated and capital-intensive process. Industry and local and national government need to work together to find ways of delivering more new homes more quickly, including on previously developed land, and this is a positive step.”
Melanie Leech, chief executive of the British Property Federation, added: “We have long highlighted that the planning system is a brake on growth and housing delivery and we are pleased Michael Gove has responded to the call in our manifesto to focus on the potential for urban brownfield sites to unlock millions of pounds of investment and deliver homes and jobs to support local prosperity. The government must now ensure that local authorities are properly resourced to take advantage of these opportunities at pace.
“The extension to PDR may help bring some vacant properties back into use but this is not a silver bullet for housing delivery. Only a small number of buildings are likely to be suitable for homes and it is paramount that there is effective ‘quality control’ in place to make sure that we do not end up with poor quality homes in our town centres.
Marc Vlessing, chief executive officer at Pocket Living, said: “While the announcement is a welcome step in the right direction it is concerning why it has taken this long for the penny to drop. There are still critical details needed for this policy to be effective. We know that on average planning determinations take roughly 69 weeks – almost 5x the statutory requirement. As we have been campaigning for, a presumption in favour of development can only be effective if it tackles this problem. A more permissive approach to development is key to the growth of the sector and the country more generally. It is now critical we work together to deliver on these promises and we look forward to engaging with the consultation to make sure we get housing supply on the right track.”
Unveiling the government’s plans, prime minister Rishi Sunak said: “We pledged to build the right homes in the right places – protecting our precious countryside and building more in urban areas where demand is highest. Today’s package is us delivering on that. We are sticking to our plan and are on track to meet our commitment to deliver one million homes over the course of this Parliament, and the changes announced today will deliver the right mix of homes across England.”
Secretary of state for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove said: “Today marks another important step forward in our long-term plan for housing, taking a brownfield first approach to deliver thousands of new homes where people want to live and work, without concreting over the countryside. Our new brownfield presumption will tackle under delivery in our key towns and cities – where new homes are most needed to support jobs and drive growth.”
Earlier today, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities also published Christopher Katkowski’s review of the London Plan “in light of consistent disappointing housing delivery in the capital”.
The review found fewer than half the London boroughs and development corporations delivered more than 95% of their appropriate housing requirement for the HDT over the three-year monitoring period and were the government’s proposed new brownfield presumption in place, up to 11,500 additional homes could potentially be delivered per year.
Katkowski said: “I am delighted to see the idea which I together with my colleagues on the London Plan review came up with of a planning policy presumption in favour of delivering new homes on brownfield sites being taken forward on a wider scale as part of a suggested change to the NPPF. The inspiration for the brownfield presumption came from the NPPF in the first place and so it is good to see the idea being brought back to its roots as an additional lever to encourage the delivery of new homes. I see this as a worthwhile and welcome change.”
In a letter to London mayor Sadiq Khan, Gove also said he intended to seek views on whether changes are required to the threshold at which a residential application is referable to the mayor of London, which is currently set at 150 homes or more. Gove said he was “aware of concerns from the [housebuilding] sector that in some instances housebuilding is being delayed by unnecessary duplication of the planning process by the Greater London Authority”.
