Next steps on the road to planning reform

When the prime minister vows to tear up the planning system, that’s not necessarily a bad thing for planners. After a year of tussling over controversial zoning, levies, affordable housing and more, this is the verdict from Victoria Hills, chief executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute, which represents the 25,000-strong planning industry. During the depths of the pandemic, Boris Johnson’s Project Speed pledged an end to “newt-counting delays” and “the most radical reforms to our planning system since the Second World War”. “What that did was turbocharge a national discussion on planning and planning policy – I can’t remember a time when planning was quite so mainstream,” says Hills. “We’re in a bit of a sweet spot: we’ve got the ear of government, the ear of the public, and there’s an opportunity through the reform agenda to actually get some really great things for the profession.” Hills’s comments come amid reports in The Times that the government is to drop zoning and associated targets, arguably the linchpin of former housing secretary Robert Jenrick’s planning white paper. The cabinet reshuffle this week could bring yet more change to the government’s proposals. “We’ve gone all the way from no idea to crazy, and maybe we are coming back down to planet Earth,” says Hills. But does a watering down and backtracking mean radical reform is off the cards in the imminent Planning Bill? On the contrary, Hills insists some of the biggest changes have already happened and there will be more to come. Political dissent The past year has seen the introduction of use class E and subsequent expansion of permitted development rights, updates to the NPPF, design codes and the cooking up of reforms of leasehold, renting and evictions and building safety. But backbench rebels have fought changes to revise housing targets in the new standard methodology for assessing housing need. Going into the summer recess MPs vowed to fight the so-called “developer’s charter” that aimed to divide land into growth, renewal and protected zones, with associated housing targets set by local planning authorities. Colin Brown, head of planning and development at Carter Jonas, says: “Political manoeuvring appears to be hindering progress in ensuring a step change in the delivery of new housing.” After being promised a radical shake-up, Brown fears proposals will be “forfeited to appease political dissent”. He adds: “This cannot be what the government had in mind when it published its vision in Planning for the future only in August last year.” However, confusion around the planning process for different zones has seen industry support dissipate. Ian Fletcher, director of real estate policy at the British Property Federation, says: “It was not particularly clear what the prize was at the end of the day. Government had said an outline permission, but not as we understand outlines at the moment. Trying to get the sector enthused about this has been challenging.” But, Fletcher adds, the 300,000-home target in the Conservative manifesto will force some action. “That has been etched on the government’s to-do list and is fast approaching now. Whatever they put in place has got to work.” Revisions to the housing assessment now call for a 35% uplift instead, which Fletcher adds will be particularly challenging in cities such as London and Birmingham. He adds that further “to-ing and fro-ing” has extended to proposals around the single levy to replace section 106 and CIL. “The concerns are that you don’t get the infrastructure you need and so you are not speeding up development, you are actually slowing it down,” says Fletcher. Consistent resourcing While the industry awaits clarity over the Planning Bill, the housing committee has also called for pre-legislative scrutiny. But the big question is how it will all be funded. The white paper suggested developers and landowners would take on a greater share of funding the system, with costs met by “the beneficiaries of planning gain”. The BPF and its members support raising fees, so long as that drives improvements in planning. Fletcher adds: “Our members say that what would improve the service most is not consistent change, but consistent resourcing.” The RTPI would like to see this supported with flexibility to allow local planning authorities to set their own planning fees. “At the moment we’ve got a one-size-fits-all across the country. We’ve said for a couple of years now that’s not really appropriate, you’ve got to let local authorities decide if they want to charge more,” she adds. Hills says the white paper was just the first step. To go further it now needs proper resourcing to be decided in the comprehensive spending review on 27 October. “The two are intrinsically linked,” she says. “In some respects it is helpful that the CSR was delayed because now it is lining up to follow the government’s response on the planning system.” The last Budget saw just £12m dedicated to LPAs; both groups agree more is needed. Hills adds: “It doesn’t matter who you speak to in the public or private sector, everybody is saying we need to resource local authority planning departments now. It is getting critical in certain areas and it will be another aspect to slowing down the delivery.” Finally, there is something the planning sector and the development industry can agree on – now it’s down to the politicians to back it too. Other reform on the government’s to-do list  Building Safety Bill: Published in July, the bill seeks to secure a comprehensive regulatory reform responding to Dame Judith Hackitt’s recommendations. The new regime will see a new Building Safety Regulator and a stringent regime for buildings over 18m. It will provide a framework for overseeing construction products, a new homes ombudsman and provisions to remove unsafe cladding. The 218-page document has had a number of suggested amendments debated in various sessions in the House of Commons this week. RPDT and high-rise levies: The residential property developer tax was announced as part of the building safety package, with a plan to tax developers with profits exceeding £25m, aiming to raise £2bn over a decade. Consultation closed in July, with the expectation that the new levy will come into force in April 2022. The levy is in addition to the developer contributions via gateway 2, to apply to all high-rise builds in the planning process. Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent Bill): The government is pushing forward with reform in two stages: the first focused on lease extension to 990 years and elimination of ground rents due this autumn, the second on the expansion of commonhold as the preferred form of ownership, expected over the coming years. Renter’s Reforms: A consultation response over reform of tenancy law to abolish section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions and strengthen section 8 (repossession when they have a valid case), is also due later this year. The government has promised to outline proposals for a new lifetimes tenancy deposit model and bring forward reform to drive improvements in rented accommodation. A white paper is due this autumn. Climate Change, Net Zero and COP26: A number of statutory instruments seek to respond to the climate crisis. The Carbon Budget 6 has already been laid, setting in law the UK’s climate change targets, namely cutting emissions by 78% from 1990 levels by 2035. The government has already published the Energy White Paper sets and Hydrogen Strategy, which seeks to encourage households to switch to hydrogen fuels. The long-awaited Heat and Building Strategy, calling for bills on gas boilers to fund low-carbon alternatives is due next month. Meanwhile the Environment Bill, specifying biodiversity net gains in development and the Tree-lined Streets Bill are also making their way through parliament. To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@eg.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @EGPropertyNews Photo: James Veysey/Shutterstock