Central to Labour’s victorious general election campaign was a promise to deliver 1.5 million new homes over the next five years, and to deliver the reforms to the planning system necessary to achieve that.
They’ve moved quickly to achieve that goal, with a consultation on a revised National Planning Policy Framework and a series of other changes already underway.
Here are some of the key proposals.
The current approach to calculating housing targets, known as the “standard method,” is based on projections of how many households will form in the next 10 years, with an adjustment to take account of housing affordability. In our 20 biggest towns and cities an arbitrary 35% increase – known as the “urban uplift” - is then applied.
There are a number of shortcomings with the current approach, particularly relating to the volatility of household projections which means the targets can change frequently.
A new standard method will instead require councils to deliver a 0.8% increase in the number of homes each year – slightly below the national average rate over the last decade. That baseline figure will then be increased based on the affordability of homes locally, but more rapidly than under the current method. The urban uplift is gone.
Across England as a whole, this new method will produce a target of more than 370,000 homes each year, compared to 305,000 using the current formula. You can find the new targets for every local authority here.
That new method is now the only way that housing targets can be calculated – there is no longer any discretion for councils to use an alternative approach.
Councils will be expected to make every effort to ensure their target is delivered – including increasing the density of development, asking neighbouring councils to help, and reviewing the green belt.
However, if a council can demonstrate that there are genuine local constraints on housing delivery – like the presence of National Park or areas at risk of flooding – they could still be able to plan for fewer homes that the new standard method indicates the need.
So we don’t really have mandatory housing targets – we have a mandatory method for calculating need.
All local authorities, regardless of the age or status of their local plan, will be required to show that they have a supply of deliverable housing land sufficient to meet their needs for the next five years. The exemption for councils with plans less than five years old is to be removed.
If a council cannot demonstrate a five-year supply, planning permission should be granted on sites which are not expressly allocated for new housing development – including greenfield sites on the edge of built-up areas – provided they meet other policy requirements, especially those relating to the design and location of new development. This is known as the “presumption in favour of sustainable development.”
Housing land supply will need to be measured against the new, higher housing targets. The government accepts this will mean more local authorities will be unable to demonstrate a five-year supply, and that more sites will be granted permission outside the local plan process. They explain that “this is necessary to ensure that we urgently address the issue of chronic undersupply of land.”
To deliver the homes (and other development) that is needed in England, the government recognise that some green belt land will need to be built on. To allow that to happen whilst ensuring the most important parts of the green belt are protected, a new category of “grey belt” is being introduced.
Although Labour ministers have described the grey belt as, for example, “poor-quality scrub land, mothballed on the outskirts of towns,” the proposed definition makes no reference to its physical appearance. Instead, it is defined as land that makes a “limited contribution” to the five purposes of the green belt – essentially stopping settlements from merging, protecting the countryside from sprawl, and protecting the setting of historic towns.
Local plans should allocate grey belt land for development ahead of other green belt sites. Planning permission could also be granted on grey belt land if the council doesn’t have a five-year housing land supply – a big change from current policy which protects the green belt from development even when a council isn’t delivering enough new homes.
Grey belt development will, however, be subject to a number of “golden rules” including providing appropriate infrastructure and open space and, most significantly, ensuring that at least half the new homes are affordable housing.
We’ve explained more about the grey belt here.
Taken together, these changes will have a significant impact on the ability of landowners to secure planning permission. They will result in a greater number of sites in a wider range of locations being considered suitable for new housing development. That represents a real opportunity for landowners to bring their sites forward for development - yet the costs and complexity of the process can still be forbidding. Which is where The Strategic Land Group can help.
We work with landowners to deliver planning permission on their land at our cost and risk. Our fee is a share of the value of the site once it is sold so if we don't succeed, it doesn't cost you anything. If you know of a site that could be suitable for housing development, get in touch today for a free, no obligation consultation on its potential.
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