We now find ourselves experiencing a mix of weird dreams, unsettled nights, gorgeous weather, home working, home schooling, social distancing, fear for our loved ones and friends and total uncertainty over the future.
With the country’s mind firmly fixed on the COVID-19 crisis, other, normally significant issues have had to take a back seat. One such issue are the Government’s proposals for the delivery of affordable housing in England.
The importance of good design in recent years, is in my opinion, a subject that has gained a lot of traction in attempts to reintroduce the principles of ‘good design’ into residential developments across the country.
This month I have been motivated to muse about public feedback on affordable housing proposals: before we’ve submitted the application and after it's gone in.
As a profession, we are encouraged to engage with the public before submitting planning applications, particularly major schemes that will have (presumably) a much larger scale impact.
Well we’re now into a new year and new decade and the RCA team have been reflecting on the most recent consultation season at the end of 2019. At the end of the year, the team were busy preparing representations for a wide breadth of clients to represent their sites to various Local Plan Reviews at various stages.
So, you have concerns about whether your site is viable to develop because the cost of planning obligations are too high, or the affordable housing requirement is too onerous, or the values are too low, or because of a combination of some or all of these factors.
Developers - is your planning submission and post application management process taking longer than you previously envisaged?
Would you prefer your application to be progressed quicker and more efficiently?
If you have had a planning application rejected, you may want to consider resubmitting if there is a genuine possibility of making changes to meet the requirements of the council. If you are long past that point, you may wish to consider an appeal. There are three routes to a planning appeal, and the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) have the final say in which route is taken.
Let’s begin by assuming that you have identified one or a number of potential development sites, and that you’ve already undertaken due diligence research.
Within this you will have probably addressed issues such as access, ground conditions, green infrastructure and some other key considerations.
An independent planning and development (P&D) consultant can be very helpful at this stage in terms of shaping and improving your assessment - and therefore the planning proposal that you will ultimately submit.
Here’s how they can help.
Let’s assume you have identified one or a number of urban/ brownfield sites that could offer development opportunity.
You now need to ensure each one is viable
Here’s how to do this.
