Housing & Planning Bill – Update

Following its Third Reading in the House of Lords on 27 April 2016, the Housing and Planning Bill will now go back to the Commons for consideration.

The Bill has been given a rough time by the Lords with the Government being defeated 13 times on various key provisions. Perhaps most significantly, the Government’s flagship Starter Homes scheme has suffered two amendments giving local authorities discretion over the number of new of Starter Homes built in their area and requiring Starter Home buyers to pay back their 20 per cent discount upon sale (with a reduction of 5 per cent a year for a period of 20 years).

The House of Lords also voted to expressly limit the use of ‘Planning in Principle’ to housing-led development, and to introduce a new right for neighbourhood groups to appeal against the approval of planning permission where permission has been granted for an application that does not accord with policies in an emerging or adopted neighbourhood plan.

The Government was also defeated over affordable housing and a new clause has been added to enable local authorities to require small sites and rural sites to make affordable housing contributions.

Further amendments made by the Lords include a requirement for all new homes built in England from 1 April 2018 to achieve a new carbon compliance standard and Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDs) to be used in all new development.

The Bill will now enter ‘ping pong’ between the Houses of Lords and Commons as MPs consider their response to the changes, and it will no doubt evolve further with the Government vowing to fight hard against many of these defeats.

We will continue to keep you updated on the progress of the Bill. If you have any queries in the meantime, please feel free to contact one of the Firstplan team