Building houses on brownfield land might be turbocharged beneath a significant shake-up to planning guidelines to spice up housebuilding whereas defending the Green Belt.
As a part of its long-term plan for housing, the federal government has introduced in the present day (13 February 2024) that each council in England might be advised that they might want to prioritise brownfield developments and instructed to be much less bureaucratic and extra versatile in making use of insurance policies that halt housebuilding on brownfield land.
The bar for refusing brownfield plans will even be made a lot larger for these large metropolis councils who’re failing to hit their domestically agreed housebuilding targets. Planning authorities in England’s 20 largest cities and cities might be made to observe a ‘brownfield presumption’, if housebuilding drops under anticipated ranges. This will make it simpler to get permission to build on beforehand developed brownfield websites, serving to extra young households to discover a home.
The raft of coverage measures introduced in the present day present the federal government taking fast motion on its long-term plan for housing, which can ship houses within the areas that want and need them essentially the most – resembling in large cities, the place there’s the best demand and current infrastructure to help new improvement. The give attention to brownfield land and concrete improvement is a part of the federal government’s plan to take a typical sense to delivering the housing that’s wanted, shield the countryside and Green Belt.
In this Parliament the federal government has delivered the best variety of new houses in a yr for 3 many years. These reforms will additional help builders aiming to undertake main regeneration on brownfield websites, giving them extra certainty by guaranteeing their plans are usually not unnecessarily blocked or held up by purple tape. Analysis printed in the present day as a part of the London Plan Review reveals that new brownfield presumption within the capital might doubtlessly lead to as much as 11,500 further houses per yr. And by extending the reforms throughout the nation, extra houses might be unlocked than if motion had been taken in London alone.
A session on these proposals launched in the present day (13 February) and can run till Tuesday 26 March, and the federal government will look to implement these adjustments to nationwide planning coverage as quickly as potential.
The authorities plans to introduce these adjustments in London on account of poor housing supply within the capital, placing rocket boosters beneath brownfield regeneration tasks.
The authorities can be serving to builders overcome tiresome paperwork by slashing purple tape that stops derelict websites and unused buildings being changed into new houses. Legislation laid in Parliament in the present day will lengthen present permitted improvement rights, in order that industrial buildings of any measurement could have the liberty to be transformed into new houses – this implies outlets, places of work, and different buildings all rapidly repurposed, leading to hundreds of high quality new houses by 2030.
Millions of house owners will even be empowered to increase their houses outwards and upwards, as the federal government is in the present day launching a session on proposals that may see extra new extensions or giant loft conversions free of the arduous strategy of receiving planning permission.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak mentioned:
We pledged to build the correct houses in the correct locations – defending our treasured countryside and building extra in city areas the place demand is highest. Today’s package deal is us delivering on that.
We are sticking to our plan and are on observe to satisfy our dedication to ship a million houses over the course of this Parliament, and the adjustments introduced in the present day will ship the right combination of houses throughout England.
Housing Secretary Michael Gove mentioned:
Today marks one other necessary step ahead in our Long-Term Plan for Housing, taking a brownfield first method to ship hundreds of latest houses the place folks need to dwell and work, with out concreting over the countryside.
Our new brownfield presumption will sort out beneath supply in our key cities and cities – the place new houses are most wanted to help jobs and drive development.
In a significant intervention earlier than Christmas, Secretary of State Michael Gove requested Christopher Katkowski KC to steer a evaluation of the London Plan – in gentle of constant disappointing housing supply within the capital. Today the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has printed Katkowski’s evaluation which advisable a presumption in favour of brownfield improvement.
However, to sort out improvement within the nation’s different giant cities and cities, the federal government is proposing to use this presumption to all the 20 most populous city areas the place improvement has fallen under acceptable ranges. This new method will put rocket boosters beneath brownfield regenerations tasks throughout the nation and supply the brand new houses the nation wants, with out affecting current protections together with for residential gardens, and guaranteeing safety for the character of suburban neighbourhoods.
Christopher Katkowski KC, Lead Reviewer of the London Plan mentioned:
I’m delighted to see the concept which I along with my colleagues on the London Plan Review got here up with of a planning coverage presumption in favour of delivering new houses on brownfield websites being taken ahead on a wider scale as a part of a urged change to the NPPF. The inspiration for the brownfield presumption got here from the NPPF within the first place and so it’s good to see the concept being introduced again to its roots as a further lever to encourage the supply of latest houses. I see this as a worthwhile and welcome change.
Further info
- National Planning Policy Framework at the moment offers for a presumption in favour of sustainable improvement to be utilized to an area authority the place it scores under 75% within the Housing Delivery Test. The authorities is proposing that, for the twenty city uplift areas, this presumption ought to be utilized for purposes on beforehand developed land (brownfield land) the place an space scores under 95%.
- The London Plan Review signifies that if a brownfield presumption in London resulted an acceleration of selections to a fee in keeping with the following 4 largest cities or returned residential purposes to the pre-London Plan approval fee and the charges of internet additions beforehand achieved from these approvals, there might be between 4,000 and 11,500 further houses per yr within the capital.
- We are already on observe to satisfy the manifesto dedication to build a million houses over this Parliament. The authorities have delivered over 2.5 million extra houses since 2010, together with almost 696,000 inexpensive houses and supported over 876,000 households into home possession. This Parliament we now have delivered the best variety of new houses in over three many years, serving to create the best variety of first-time consumers in single yr in twenty years.
- Between 1997 and 2010, common housing supply was over 170,000 a yr. Since 2019, we now have delivered over 233,000 new houses a yr on common.
Further quotes:
Mark Allan, Chief Executive, Landsec
Landsec has been campaigning to unlock extra financial development, extra houses and extra jobs by refocusing nationwide planning coverage on the alternatives offered by brownfield city regeneration. The emphasis on maximising housing improvement in city areas set out in the present day implies that we will seize a few of these alternatives, ship extra houses and safe higher outcomes for cities and the individuals who dwell there.
David Thomas, Chief Executive, Barratt Developments
We welcome any efforts to make it simpler to get planning permission, notably for brownfield regeneration which is already naturally a extra sophisticated and capital-intensive course of. Industry and native and nationwide authorities must work collectively to seek out methods of delivering extra new houses extra rapidly, together with on beforehand developed land, and this can be a optimistic step.
Simon Carter, Chief Executive, British Land
Today’s announcement is one other necessary step in the direction of unlocking the potential of brownfield city regeneration. British Land has persistently advocated for practical, deliverable planning reform which prioritises brownfield improvement, accelerates the tempo of housing supply and helps to safe long-term sustainable development, by intensifying improvement in city areas the place it’s wanted most.
Baroness O’Neill of Bexley mentioned:
London wants extra housing and I welcome the federal government’s focus of guaranteeing we see extra houses on brownfield websites. Our communities rightly need to see greenbelt and parks protected against improvement and meaning we now have to focus on regenerating current brownfield land.
Nicholas Boys Smith, Interim Chair, Office for Place mentioned:
It’s proper to focus improvement wherever potential inside current cities and locations. More intense streets may be good for locations, for the prosperity of native business and for the burden with which we collectively tread upon the planet. Any step, resembling this one, which inspires brownfield and infill improvement is welcome. I might encourage all native councils to place in place clear, visible and sturdy design codes, as required by the brand new Levelling Up and Regeneration Act, to make sure that new improvement makes old locations higher.
Minister for London, Greg Hands mentioned:
Maximising the potential of brownfield websites is a confirmed catalyst to create hundreds extra houses in London, serving to folks safe the houses they want while defending our treasured inexperienced belt and regenerating our excessive streets.
Prioritising these websites is significant to the federal government’s plan for housing and can ship new houses for the folks of London.
Stephen Teagle, Chief Executive, Countryside Partnerships, Vistry Group mentioned:
There is an pressing want to handle the disaster of a long-term undersupply of latest houses and these adjustments, making the most effective use of city brownfield land and supporting pragmatic dedication of planning purposes, is vital in order that we will get building. We stand able to ship new combined tenure houses and communities to offer essentially the most basic of human want – a secure and safe home.
