Letwin Review, Planning Reforms and Future Homes Standards

Purpose of report

For direction.

Summary

This paper seeks the Board’s steer on our engagement with planning policy reforms, including how the LGA should engage with:

the Government following the Letwin Review

the development of the Accelerated Planning Green Paper

the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission, and development of a Future Homes Standard

Rt Hon Sir Oliver Letwin MP will attend the Board to discuss his Review.

Recommendation That the Board consider and comment on proposals in paragraphs 8, 10, and 13. Action As directed by the Board.

Contact officer:	Nick Porter	Jo Allchurch

Position:	Senior Adviser Adviser

Phone no:	02076643113 07900931045

Email:	nick.porter@local.gov.uk jo.allchurch@local.gov.uk

Letwin Review, Planning Reforms and Future Homes Standards

Background

The LGA has continued to argue that the local planning system must have the powers, flexibilities and resources to ensure good quality housing growth that is set within wider local strategies for places to improve health, create jobs and growth, and build positive communities.

The Board continues to campaign with councils on a range of planning policy reforms based on existing LGA policy positions, for instance resourcing of planning departments, permitted development, National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and viability reforms, and wider calls for localisation of planning tools to respond to local need.

This paper seeks the Board’s steer on further advancing this position with the current policy debates on the future of planning, including taking forward the Letwin Review, and contributing to the Accelerated Planning Green Paper and Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission.

Issues

Independent review into build out rates

Rt Hon Sir Oliver Letwin MP concluded his independent review into build out rates in October 2018. The LGA engaged with the Review, and published its own report looking at good practice and issues regarding the slow build out of sites.

The Review found that the lack of diversity across the types and tenures of homes delivered on large sites limits the rate at which such homes are purchased in the market, and therefore the rate that large developers build these homes. The Review made a number of recommendations for how councils and developers can work together to increase the level of diversity in ways that attract different interests within the market and therefore enable faster build out rates. The LGA prepared a briefing available online. Recommendations included:

a new set of local planning rules requiring a diversity of types and tenure of homes on large sites

incentivise diversification through making Government funding for developers or purchases conditional on the developer accepting a Section 106 agreement which conforms to the new planning rules

introduce powers for councils in some areas to designate areas in their local plans as land for large new development and create master plans and design codes that ensure diversity and good design, in order to promote faster build out

introduce powers for councils to compulsorily purchase land designated for large sites at a price that reflects the value for that land at the point of granting planning permission, and create master plans that reflect the new planning diversity requirements

give councils the powers to control the development of such sites

At the Spring Statement the Government responded to say that it will publish additional planning guidance on housing diversification to further encourage large sites to support a diverse range of housing needs. However, it has indicated that it will not adopt many of the recommendations proposed by the Independent Review, and instead would keep the need for further amendments to primary legislation under review.

The Statement also set out the Government’s intention to publish an Accelerated Planning Green Paper, proposed engagement with the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission, and announced it will develop a Future Homes Standard.

The build out of sites with planning permission has been a priority issue for the Board, and therefore the Board’s general views are sought on the next steps for the LGA, and in particular on the proposal that the LGA:

Engage with the Government on the development of guidance relating to the diversification of large sites.

Adopt the findings from the independent review as recommendations that the LGA would support for all councils on all site sizes, as a means to delivering build out rates, alongside other measures

Make the case to the Government to introduce additional support for councils who are processing large planning applications, developing capacity support that had previously been provided by the Advisory Team for Large Applications (ATLAS)

Continue to argue for streamlined Compulsory Purchase Order powers to address slow build out or stalled sites, which could be used on a housing site where a development has not come forward after a specific period

Make the case for financial penalties to incentivise build out rates, for example council tax charges on developers who do not build out to the rate agreed with a local planning authority

Accelerated Planning Green Paper

The Government plans to publish an Accelerated Planning Green Paper later this year. The paper ‘will discuss how greater capacity and capability, performance management and procedural improvements can accelerate the end-to-end planning process’. It will also draw on the Rosewell Review, which made recommendations to reduce the time taken to conclude planning appeal inquiries.

The Board’s views are sought on the proposal that LGA engage with the process in developing the Green Paper, and in particular that the LGA engage in order to emphasise that:

Council planning departments need sufficient funding, and could become self-financing through allowing councils to set planning fees locally. The additional 20 per cent national increase should be implemented in the meantime.

The Housing Delivery Test is reformed in light of recent complications with the locally assessed need formula, including removing the threat of presumption of sustainable development and enabling councils to focus on positive interventions through an extended action planning period.

Local and central government should work together to establish whether recent national changes have achieved the desired policy objective of a simpler, more transparent national robust viability system.

There is a need to simplify the process of pursuing a Compulsory Purchase Order, and modernise and simplify the compensation regime.

National permitted development rights should be replaced with a model enabling councils to ‘opt-in’, rather than the existing ‘opt-out’ (via Article 4 Directions) as is the current situation.

There should be a simpler system for amending planning permissions

There is an opportunity to refresh the planning enforcement regime, for instance to speed up the planning appeals process, to simplify the stop notice system, and to introduce significant additional fees for retrospective applications

Councils should have a clear power to issue a split decision on a planning application where there is a detailed element that the council cannot support, but where the rest of the scheme is satisfactory

Councils are supported to improve and streamline their own planning processes at pre-application and application stages, alongside investments in staff such as training and emphasis on developing culture.

Planning is an exciting and meaningful profession with a range of career development opportunities that should be better promoted to young people, for instance through a programme similar to TeachFirst

Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission and Future Homes Standard

The Government has launched its Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission, which is an independent body that will advise on ‘how to promote and increase the use of high-quality design for new build homes and neighbourhoods’. Within the Spring Statement the Government announced that it will also develop and consult on a Future Homes Standard. The commission has three primary aims:

To promote better design and style of homes, villages, towns and high streets, to reflect what communities want, building on the knowledge and tradition of what they know works for their area.

To explore how new settlements can be developed with greater community consent.

To make the planning system work in support of better design and style, not against it.

The commission have created a survey through which to engage with interested partners. Questions seek to understand what are the best ways of creating homes and communities that are sustainable and have high levels of community support, how design methods are received by all partners, how the planning system can ensure standards over the longer term, and what steps should be taken towards fostering higher standards.

The Board’s views are sought on the proposal that the LGA engage with the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission and the development of a Future Homes Standard, and on key messages that might include:

Councils are best placed through the local planning process to develop a positive and coherent plan that shape prosperous places and communities, working with local partners to secure public backing for development - it is crucial that councils have the powers and resources to achieve this.

Successive administrations have incorrectly viewed the planning system as a barrier rather than as an enabler of good quality housing growth. As a result powers have been removed from councils to shape places, without there being a resulting increase in the number of new homes delivered by the private sector. The Government should resist further deregulation of the local plan-led system which undermines councils’ ability to shape their local areas and secure appropriate infrastructure to support new development.

Whilst the right homes in the right places can generate significant wider benefits, poorly planned developments focusing on numbers can have a range of negative implications for health, jobs, growth, congestion and more.

There is a need for national leadership on standards, in particular a strengthened and nationally mandated Future Homes Standard which focuses on making all new homes environmentally sustainable. In addition, there is an opportunity to refresh a ‘Lifetime Homes Standard’ to future proof all new homes ensuring that they will be accessible for all ages and all markets, in turn supporting the wider ambition to diversify supply and meet the housing needs of our ageing population.

Councils are directly intervening in local markets to improve standards, building high quality housing in areas to attract wider investment. Councils are now building some of the most innovative and well-designed good quality homes, and should be supported to further grow this effort.

Financial Implications

There are no financial implications.

Next steps

As directed by the Board in response to paragraphs 8, 10 and 13.

LGA Housing Commission Final Report, Building Our Homes, Communities and Future, 2016 https://www.local.gov.uk/lga-housing-commission-final-report

Final Report of the Independent Review into Building Out Rates, 2018 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-build-out-final-report

LGA Enabling timely build out of high quality housing, 2018 https://www.local.gov.uk/speeding-delivery-learning-councils-enabling-timely-build-out-high-quality-housing

LGA Briefing on the Final Report from the Letwin Review, 2018 https://www.local.gov.uk/parliament/briefings-and-responses/briefing-independent-review-build-out-final-report

HMG Spring Statement 2019 https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-03-13/HCWS1408/

HMG Spring Statement, 2019 https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-03-13/HCWS1408/

Final Report of independent review of planning appeals, 2019 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-planning-appeal-inquiries-report

Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission, 2019 https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/building-better-building-beautiful-commission

Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission, Survey, 2019 https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/GXNTKSY