Industry has welcomed the sweeping changes to the planning system which the Government has outlined in its Planning and Infrastructure Bill, in order to deliver 1.5million homes by 2030.
The Bill, which was announced by the Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Rt Hon. Angela Rayner MP, proposes measures aiming to speed up planning decisions and deliver necessary development.
RIBA’s President, Muyiwa Oki said: “This is a welcome shot in the arm for the construction industry. To ensure the much needed high quality housing and infrastructure, urgent action is required.
“However, to deliver the seismic changes proposed, local planning departments will need to be adequately resourced and supported with the right people, skills and design expertise they need. We look forward to examining the Bill and working with the Government to ensure we create well-designed homes and places that meet the needs for communities to thrive.
“The Bill signifies a step in the right direction to speeding up the planning system. What’s not in question is the desperate need to build quality homes and vibrant places up and down the country.”
The Bill sets out a range of measures designed to deliver the government’s programme of housebuilding and infrastructure reforms through reforming the operation of the planning system. Among the measures included in the Bill are:
- Bill discounts for residents and funding of local projects for communities hosting new energy generation and transmission infrastructure
- Introduction of strategic spatial development strategies across England to better join up development and infrastructure needs
- A ‘first ready, first connected’ approach giving priority connections to the power grid for clean energy projects
- National delegation of planning committees to streamline housing planning decisions
- A Nature Restoration Fund to support larger environmental interventions that secure environmental improvements
- More streamlined consultations for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, including an overhaul of the system for challenging consenting decisions.
Sir John Armitt, Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission said: “This bold and broad-ranging package of measures should deliver a planning system optimised to enable the significant amounts of new energy, transport and water infrastructure the country will need to thrive over the long term.
“I’m pleased government has heeded our call to provide benefits to individuals and communities hosting new energy infrastructure, and the figures outlined should win over doubters. By adopting a spatial approach to planning decisions, enabling more streamlined decisions on major infrastructure projects and funding better environmental mitigation, the Bill covers all the bases for an infrastructure planning system built for speed, fairness and sustainable growth.”
Anna Hollyman, UKGBC’s Co-Head of Policy & Places said every planning decision is an opportunity to create greener, safer and healthier communities: “This bill indicates a welcome move towards longer-term strategic planning, investment in planning capacity and an acceleration towards clean energy. However, communities must have a meaningful voice in ensuring developments meet their local needs, and ‘streamlining’ environment assessments must not be code for weakening standards.
“The planning system must work in harmony with nature and communities, not against them. The bill must prioritise the creation of climate safe, nature-rich, healthy and thriving communities up and down the country.”
The RTPI has emphasised the importance of the Government reinvesting in the planning system through planning fees, addressing, to some extent, the profession's long-standing call for additional resources.
Dr Victoria Hills, Chief Executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute, said: “These proposals, many of which the RTPI has long campaigned for, have the potential to fundamentally change how we plan our communities, power our homes, commute to work, and take our kids to school.
“If implemented correctly, and with the measures taken to resource the planning system, they will shape the way the next generation interacts with the built environment.”
Kate Henderson, Chief Executive at the National Housing Federation, said at a time when the housing crisis continues to blight lives across the country, it's welcome to see the introduction of this bill. With more than 160,000 children in temporary accommodation, it's never been more urgent to build the social homes we need.
“Planning reform is an essential part of solving the housing crisis, and a return to strategic planning is welcome,” she said. “A focus on certainty and enabling local areas to work together to plan for the homes, jobs and infrastructure needed in communities will ensure every area benefits from growth. Measures to reform compulsory purchase orders in the bill are also welcome, and will support the delivery of affordable housing and other local infrastructure such as GPs and schools.
“Alongside planning reform, to build the social and affordable homes the country needs we hope to see the upcoming Spending Review include a significant boost in funding for social rented homes and equal access to building safety funding for social landlords. This must form part of a package of long-term measures to help the social housing sector rebuild its capacity after decades of cuts.
“Building social and affordable homes is also great value for money for the government, cutting the benefits bill and saving on homelessness prevention, temporary accommodation and the NHS.”
