Developers Beware

Developers Beware

With one of the most radical pieces of legislation going through the House of Commons at the moment, are we going to see a considerable change in local government and the planning landscape?

It is widely known that residents can feel put upon by developers and councils.  They can feel powerless as wind farms or supermarkets or housing developments are given the go-ahead without their approval.  Above all they can feel as if they are not being listened to.

The proposed Localism Bill plans to transform the relationship between local authorities and communities and give residents a far greater say on planning matters

The Bill was published in December 2010 and sets out a series of proposals with the potential to achieve a substantial and lasting shift in power away from central government and towards local people.  They include: new freedoms and flexibilities for local government; new rights and powers for communities and individuals; reform to make the planning system more democratic and more effective, and reform to ensure that decisions about housing are taken locally.

Some of the planning and regeneration provisions and the key measures likely to directly affect developers include:

• The Abolition of Regional Strategies: Regional Spatial Strategies are to be abolished and decisions on housing supply and planning returned to the local planning authorities
• The abolition of the Infrastructure Planning Commission and the return to a position where the Secretary of State takes the final decision on major infrastructure proposals of national importance
• Neighbourhood Plans: The Bill will introduce a new right for communities to draw up a "neighbourhood development plan" which sets out policies in relation to the development and use of land in a particular neighbourhood, which would be approved if they received 50% of the votes cast in a referendum
• Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL): the Bill proposes changes to the levy to make it more flexible.  It will allow the money raised to be spent on maintaining infrastructure as well as building new infrastructures.   The changes are as follows:

• • Local Planning Authorities will have greater control over the setting of their charges.
  • The ability to make regulations requiring some of CIL to be passed to neighbourhoods where the development has taken place.
  • Clarification that CIL can be spent on the on-going costs of infrastructure as well as the initial costs of new infrastructure.
• Local Planning Reform: requirements have been included for developers to consult local communities before submitting planning applications for certain developments.  Developers will be required to have regard to any responses received during the consultation when deciding whether to make any changes to the proposed development, before submitting their planning applications.
• Neighbourhood planning: The Bill will introduce new rights for local communities to shape their local areas through; Neighbourhood Orders and Neighbourhood Development Plans. These will enable neighbourhood development orders to be made without the need for specific planning permission required from the local planning authority for development granted by the order.
• New housing and regeneration powers to the Greater London Authority, while abolishing the London Development Agency.

In addition to the above other key provisions included in the Bill are:

• Provisions relating to councils include:
  • Giving councils a general power of competence.
  • Allowing councils to choose to return to the committee system of governance and allowing for referendums for elected mayors in certain authorities.
  • Abolishing the Standards Board regime and the model code of conduct, and introducing local accountability and a criminal offence of deliberate failure to declare a personal interest in a matter.
  • Giving residents the power to instigate local referendums on any local issue and the power to veto excessive council tax increases.
  • Allowing councils more discretion over business rate relief.
  • Providing new powers to help save local facilities and services threatened with closure, and giving voluntary and community groups the right to challenge local authorities over their services.

• The housing provisions will:
  • Abolish the requirement to have a Home Improvement Pack.
  • Reform the Housing Revenue Account system.
  • Provide for a new form of flexible tenure for social housing tenants.
  • Allow local authorities to discharge their duties to homeless people by using private rented accommodation.
  • Give local authorities the power to limit who can apply for social housing within their areas.
  • Abolish the Tenant Services Authority and provides for a transfer of functions to the Homes and Communities Agency.
  • Amend the way in which a social tenant can make a complaint about their landlord
  • Improve the ability of social tenants to move to different areas.

Although it can be accepted that nobody wants anything built in 'their back garden' are these changes the right way to go about it or are they just going to reduce and discourage developers and hinder the growth of the market?

Please contact Charlotte Gould for more information