The highly anticipated revised NPPF was finally published on 19 December 2023. Quite fittingly given the new focus on beautiful buildings and high-quality design, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities chose to announce the imminent publication, as part of the second phase of the Long-Term Plan for Housing, at the headquarters of the Royal Institute of British Architects.
The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP stated that tackling the five main reasons people object to new housing – low quality design, lack of supporting infrastructure, lack of democratic control over new development, environmental concerns and lack of a neighbourhood community or sense of place - would speed up the planning system, and that the changes should incentivise Local Authorities to adopt up to date Local Plans and deliver the planned-for homes. The vital importance of planning and the central role of planning professionals in shaping communities was also underlined – which we certainly agree with! But what are the changes likely to really mean for housebuilding
Due to significant growth of the business and increasing opportunities within Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, RCA Regeneration Ltd. have recently expanded into the east of England after welcoming new Director Helen Morris to the team.
So now we await a return to normality that may never really arrive. Cummings’ trip up north may have heralded a relaxation of the government’s lockdown and a move towards us being more ‘alert’ – whatever that means.
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.
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?
