News Type: Legislation Update

The Neighbourhood Planning Bill, announced in the Queen’s Speech in May, has now been launched in Parliament.

The government hopes that the Bill will strengthen the neighbourhood planning process ‘by simplifying how plans can be revised as local circumstances change and ensure that plans come into force sooner once approved by local people’. To achieve this, new measures include the introduction of a ‘proportionate process’ for modifying neighbourhood development orders and plans which have already been approved, and a clause to allow for changes to the boundaries of neighbourhood areas.

Other measures aim to ensure that pre-commencement planning conditions, which require developers to take action before work can start on site, are only used when strictly necessary. Under the new measures, pre-commencement conditions can only be used by local planning authorities where they have the written agreement of the developer.

The Bill also includes a clause that will require local planning authorities to record prior approval applications for residential conversions on their planning registers to allow the government to monitor the number of new homes allowed through permitted development.

A technical consultation on the implementation of the provisions in the Bill has been launched and will run until 19 October 2016. A separate consultation has also been launched on ‘Improving the use of planning conditions’, which closes on 2 November 2016.

If you have any queries regarding the Bill or the associated consultations, please feel free to contact one of the Firstplan team.

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

Amendments to the General Permitted Development Order 2015 came into force today (6 April 2016) which make permanent the previously temporary right to change a building used as an office into residential use.

A change of use from office to residential use can be secured through the prior approval process which gives the local planning authority (LPA) the ability to assess a scheme with regard to the transport and highways impacts of the development, contamination risks, and flooding risks on the site. In addition to this, a new fourth test is now in place which also allows the LPA to consider the impact of noise from commercial premises on the intended occupiers of the development.

The new PD rights require the conversion to be completed within three years of the date that prior approval is secured. LPA’s which currently have areas exempt from the permitted development rights (such as the Central Activities Zone in London) have until 31 May 2019 to replace the exemption with an Article 4 Direction, if they wish to do so.

New permitted development rights were also introduced today which allow the change of use of a launderette to residential use, as well as the change of use of a building in light industrial use to residential use (within a three year period from 1 October 2017 until 30 September 2020).

Last week the Government finally confirmed that the permitted development rights first introduced in May 2013, will be made permanent from 6 April 2016 to continue to bring forward sites for much-needed housing across England. These provisions are to be made under Class O, Part 3 of Schedule 2 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (Amendment) Order 2016.

Over the past three years these provisions have provided a means of securing the change of use of office premises to residential use whilst avoiding many prescriptive planning requirements; such as affordable housing and other contributions and compliance with detailed residential space standards and unit mix requirements. A change of use can be secured through the prior approval process which gives the Local Authority the ability to assess a scheme with regard to the transport and highways impacts of the development, contamination risks, and flooding risks on the site. These updated regulations have now introduced a fourth test which includes the impacts of noise from commercial premises on the intended occupiers of the development.

The updated regulations also confirm that conversions must be completed within a period of 3 years starting with the prior approval date. Certain areas which are already exempt from the permitted development right (such as the Central Activities Zone in London) will have their exemption removed with effect from 31 May 2019, potentially opening new areas for residential conversions to come forward. Local Authorities will, however, be allowed to bring into force Article 4 Directions removing the rights, if they wish to do so. The previously rumoured extension of the rights to allow for the demolition and rebuilding of office buildings have not been introduced in this package of updates.

The release also introduces a new temporary permitted development right for the change of use of light industrial premises B1(c) to residential from 30 September 2017 until 1 October 2020 to further enhance delivery of housing. This provision relates to buildings used solely for a light industrial use on 19th March 2014 or when it was last in use, with a floor area below 500 square metres. This permitted development provision is also subject to a condition which requires that before beginning the development, the developer must apply to the local planning authority for a determination as to whether the prior approval is required. In addition to the four tests noted above, this permitted development right includes a fifth test.

This additional test allows the Local Authority to assess the impact of a change of use on the sustainability of important industrial, storage and distribution areas. In addition, any request for prior approval needs to be supported by a statement setting out the evidence the developer relies upon to demonstrate that the building was used solely for a light industrial use on 19th March 2014. The updated legislation is available here.

Should you wish to discuss these provisions further or require advice on a specific site, please feel free to get in touch with a member of our team on: 020 3096 7000.

The Housing and Planning Bill 2015-16 had its first reading in the House of Commons this week and, as anticipated, the planning system is again the target of some fairly radical changes aimed at speeding up the delivery of new homes to help the Government meet its ambitious target of building one million homes by 2020. Amongst the key provisions are new measures allowing automatic planning permission on allocated brownfield land, a new legal duty on local authorities to provide Starter Homes and a requirement that Local Plans are in place by 2017.

Brownfield Sites – The Bill will enable local authorities or neighbourhood groups to grant ‘planning permission in principle’ for housing sites at the point when a site is allocated in an adopted local, neighbourhood plan or placed on a local brownfield register.  Further legislation will follow setting out the ‘type and scope’ of development for which this permission will be granted, but at the moment the Government intends to limit it to minor housing developments of fewer than 10 units.  The Bill confirms that the permission in principle cannot be granted subject to any conditions, and instead, an application for ‘technical details consent’ will be required – at which point, appropriate conditions may be attached.  Consultation will take place on what will constitute the ‘technical details consent’ in due course.

Starter Homes –  The Bill includes provisions which require local authorities to ‘actively promote’ the development of Starter Homes – properties available to first time buyers aged under 40 at a discount of 20% below market rates. As well as a general duty to promote the supply of Starter Homes through the local plan process, the duty will also apply to decisions on planning applications to ensure that they become a ‘common feature’ of new residential developments across England.  New regulations will be brought into force so that local authorities will only be able to grant planning permission for certain residential developments if specified requirements relating to Starter Homes are met.

The Bill follows a separate announcement by David Cameron last week confirming that Starter Homes will be included in the affordable housing definition – meaning that, for the first time, developers have the option of providing low-cost housing for sale  as part of their affordable housing obligation rather than just rent as was previously the case. The Bill confirms that regulations ‘could include provision of a particular number or proportion of Starter Homes on site or the payment of a commuted sum to the local planning authority for the provision of Starter Homes’.

Self-Builds –  From March 2016, the Government is bringing into force a requirement for local authorities to compile a register of persons seeking to acquire land to build or commission their own home, and for regard to be given to the register in decision making. The Housing Bill now takes this further by requiring local authorities to ensure that there are a sufficient number of plots to meet the demand of their local register. Interestingly, a clause in the Bill allows local authorities to apply for an exemption from this duty.

Local Plans – New provisions are introduced to ensure that all local authorities get Local Plans in place by 2017.  The Bill introduces powers to allow ‘targeted and proportionate intervention’ by the Secretary of State which is aimed at ensuring ‘the majority of local decisions to remain at the lowest appropriate level whilst ensuring a local plan is in place’. It will be interesting to see whether this new pressure on local authorities will indeed speed up the efficiency of their plan making, or result in the production of rushed plans which are ultimately found to be unsound.

Neighbourhood Plans – The Bill introduces new provisions intended to speed up the neighbourhood planning process which, on average, currently take two years to complete.  New measures include powers to allow the Secretary of State to intervene to prescribe time limits for local authorities to decide whether to hold a referendum on a neighbourhood plan. Should a local authority fail to make this decision within the time limit, the new powers also allow the Secretary of State to intervene on the decision to send the plan to referendum.   A new clause is also introduced allowing neighbourhood forums to request notification of planning applications in their area in an attempt to enable them to participle more effectively in local planning and ‘promote appropriate new development’.

Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects – Changes are introduced to allow developers to include an element of housing as part of their application for consent for an infrastructure project of national significance.

Planning Performance Regime – As is already the case with planning applications for major development, the Bill will extend the planning performance regime to allow smaller, non-major applications to be submitted to and decided by the Planning Inspectorate where the local authority has a track record of very poor performance in the speed or quality of its decision-making.

Office-to-Residential Use – The Bill was published on the same day that Housing and Planning Minister Brandon Lewis confirmed that temporary permitted development rights introduced in May 2013, which allow office premises to covert to residential use without having to apply for full planning permission, will be made permanent.  In addition to the PD rights being made permanent, those who already have permission will have three years in which to complete the change of use – ‘ending potential uncertainty for developers and enabling the development of much needed homes’.

Mr Lewis also announced that the rights will in future allow the demolition of office buildings and new building for residential use – a move which will broaden the scope of the PD rights to include many more underused office buildings, not just those capable of being converted to housing. In addition, new permitted development rights will enable the change of use of light industrial buildings and launderettes to new homes.

The emphasis of the Bill is certainly on speed, and improving the efficiency of the planning system is seen as a key element in delivering large numbers of new homes fast.  As the Bill is debated on its way through Parliament over the coming months, the Government will have the difficult job of convincing everyone that these changes are not only the best way to quickly increase housing supply, but that the changes can be implemented without compromising the quality of housing or indeed the quality of decision making.

If you have any queries about the Housing and Planning Bill or the announcements relating to office to residential use, please feel free to contact one of the Firstplan team.

It has been a busy few weeks for the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) with reforms to the planning regime coming from all angles.  As the Housing and Planning Bill continues to make its way through parliament with a series of legislative changes designed to speed up the planning system, it is now the turn of planning policy to be shaken up.

Following the Government’s recent Spending Review, a consultation was launched today on extensive changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).  The consultation runs until 25 January 2016, and includes some fairly significant proposals, namely:

• broadening the definition of affordable housing, to expand the range of low cost housing opportunities for those aspiring to own their new home.  The current definition includes some low cost home ownership models such as shared ownership and shared equity, provided that they are subject to “in perpetuity” restrictions or that the subsidy is recycled for alternative affordable housing provision.  The current consultation proposes that the definition of affordable housing is amended “so that it encompasses a fuller range of products that can support people to access home ownership”, and significantly, some of these products may not be subject to ‘in perpetuity’ restrictions or have recycled subsidy.

• increasing residential density around commuter hubs, to make more efficient use of land in suitable locations. The proposed amendments will expect local planning authorities, in both plan-making and in taking planning decisions, to require higher density development around commuter hubs ‘wherever feasible’ but falls short of actually introducing a minimum level of residential density in these locations.

• supporting sustainable new settlements, development on brownfield land and small sites, and delivery of housing allocated in plans. Perhaps most significant here is the proposal to make clearer in national policy that substantial weight should be given to the benefits of using brownfield land for housing (in effect, a form of ‘presumption’ in favour of brownfield land).

• supporting delivery of starter homes. Amendments are proposed to make clear that unviable or underused employment land should be released unless there is significant and compelling evidence to justify why such land should be retained for employment use.

The full consultation document can be found here. If you have any queries regarding the consultation, please feel free to contact one of the Firstplan team.