Government Proposals for Planning and Housing Policy
There is a huge momentum behind planning and housing reform as the UK government tries to tackle a chronic shortage of housing across the country. The Housing and Planning Bill, the Government’s flagship delivery legislation, is at its Committee Stage in the House of Commons and can probably be expected mid-2016. Much of the detail will appear in regulations, the content of which is now being revealed.

The government has produced a lot of material setting out its objectives. The Autumn Spending Review (the “ASR”), delivered by George Osborne in November contained a number of announcements relevant to planning and housing. In December, the Department for Communities and Local Government began consulting on changes to the National Planning and Policy Framework (the “NPPF”). This follows a policy document, called ‘Fixing the Foundations’, published by HM Treasury in July which included, notably, a whole chapter on ‘Planning Freedoms and more houses to buy’. And there is another consultation into the somewhat contentious Community Infrastructure Levy (“CIL”).

Affordable Homes and Starter Homes
The Conservative Party Manifesto pledged to build 200,000 starter homes by 2020 (that is, homes sold to young, first-time buyers at 80 per cent of their market value). This pledge was repeated in Fixing the Foundations. It tackles a general need for housing of all types and more particularly the need for affordable homes to buy. Affordable renting is not forgotten however, and the NPPF Consultation proposes to widen the definition of affordable housing to include a “fuller range of products” to rent and own.

The Housing and Planning Bill will impose two new duties on local planning authorities (“LPAs”) in respect of starter homes. There will be a duty to promote delivery of starter homes and new residential schemes will have to contain a set proportion of starter homes. Duties in respect of starter homes will be subject to viability and in this regard the government is consulting on CIL and will begin to standardise viability assessments. Starter homes are delivered as homes for first-time buyers less than 40 years of age to buy (rather than rent). Starter homes are sold at 80 per cent of local market values.

To give all these proposals teeth, the ASR announced a fresh tranche of investment in council estates, infrastructure, garden cities and regeneration (approximately £3.3 billion, taken together).

Streamlining Processes
The government states that it intends to remove obstacles in the planning process to speed development. One major announcement is another new duty to be imposed on LPAs to maintain a register of all brownfield sites suitable for housing. The government intends to grant these brownfield sites a sort of automatic planning permission called a ‘Planning Permission in Principle’. The NPPF Consultation declares that the government’s ambition is “for 90 per cent of brownfield land suitable for housing to have planning permission by 2020”.

LPAs will be similarly incentivised to approve schemes as a new test is introduced comparing delivery envisaged by local plans with delivery actually achieved. While the finer points of this test are being consulted on, failure to meet targets will lead to special measures being imposed. Under the government’s proposals, developers may gain the right to bypass entirely an LPA in special measures. Developers would instead apply directly to the Planning Inspectorate for determination of their application. Small- and medium-sized enterprises will see burdens reduced as the ASR announced an intention to halve the length of the planning guarantee (time period for decisions) for minor developments.

In London, controversially, the Mayor will see powers to call in applications increase, reducing from 150 dwellings to 50 dwellings the threshold at which call-in powers may be exercised. Call-in powers have been used to approve controversial schemes (such as the recent application to develop Bishopsgate Goodsyard) for the sake of delivering housing.

Effective Land Use
The Government sees effective use of land as essential to delivery. Office-to-residential permitted development rights will be extended in perpetuity and the ASR announced a desire to release more public sector land for the same purpose.

The NPPF Consultation also foresees an increase in housing density with an increase in density around transport hubs of approximately 20 per cent (from 34 to 40 dwellings per hectare).

Radically, the NPPF Consultation proposes extending brownfield policies to include brownfield sites in the Green Belt. So long as schemes proposed on the Green Belt contribute to the delivery of starter homes, the Government will support delivery.

Conclusions
The Conservative Manifesto recognised a dire shortage of housing. Now, the government has put housebuilding high on its list of priorities. Its policies appear to be pro-active. It has indicated a willingness to invest public money as well as incentivising and encouraging private investment. The policy objectives appear to be affordability, deregulation and delivery. Whether the Housing and Planning Bill proves to be an effective vehicle for these objectives remains to be seen as much of the detail is still to be published.