The 1st July 1948 heralded a new dawn in how property
was built, as the Town & Country Planning Act 1947 came into force, meaning
no property could be built without the say so of the local authority. Now,
Boris Johnson has announced a substantial change to that, by in effect, ending
planning permission.
The decision of what gets built (and what doesn’t) will
be removed from Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council and replaced by Westminster
governed ‘Zoning Commissions’. The anticipated reform will give presumptive
building rights to any piece of land outside areas of outstanding natural
beauty, green belt and national parks, although in the press release there was
mention of protection for the countryside.
Travel to Europe and it’s common to see out of place
haphazard development of new households or commercial buildings, surrounded by
open countryside ... so, I hope these new regulations protect us against that.
The principles of the planning rule
changes are a departure away from looking at each planning application as a
standalone application to a ‘zone-system’ of planning. Land will be divided
into three classes: 1st for growth, 2nd for protection
and 3rd for renewal. Anyone applying for planning permission to
develop homes, offices and shops on land zoned for growth, will automatically be
granted planning permission; whilst land zoned for renewal planning permission
will be granted in principle while Government officers perform checks. Local authorities have until 2024 to designate areas for the three
classes and once agreed, planning
departments will have little or no say
over individual applications
that fit the rules.
Interestingly, these changes come on top of new planning
regulations coming into force this September which gives implied rights to
demolish any office building and replace with a block of flats, and the right
to build extra floors/storeys on your home.
The Housing Secretary has specified the motive behind the
changes to the planning system is not to make planning permissions easier to
get (although 88% of planning applications are approved by local authority’s
already). Instead, they have been done to make the planning process quicker, less
expensive and less likely to be held up by special ‘interest’ groups.
90%
of planning permissions in Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council were approved
last year (compared to the national average
of 88%)
Noteworthy, the planning rules
were changed in 2016 to turn disused shops and office space into residential
homes (called ‘permitted development’ rights), yet these new regulations about
to be announced by Boris will take that right even further. This is important
because in 2019, there were 241,340 new households created in the country, yet
29,260 of those households came from turning disused shops and office space
into residential homes (i.e. the planning permission rule changes made in
2016).
My concern is that the new
planning rule changes do not make shop or redundant space into the new 21st
Century ghettos. An RICS report in 2018 showed a
massive difference between the conversion of office blocks with planning
permission and those without (i.e. permitted development). What was
interesting is that only 1 in 5 properties met the national space standards, a
non-legally binding suggestion on the minimum size of home, minimum
dimensions of bedrooms, natural light, storage & floor to ceiling height,
whilst 3 in 4 of office block conversions that did obtain planning permission
met the standard.
These planning changes cannot be a charter for cowboy
builders or developers, otherwise your children or grandchildren could end up
renting one of these sub-standard homes, thus stealing human dignity from
thousands of youngsters who will end up renting these homes.
So, what does this all mean to Huddersfield homeowners
and Huddersfield landlords? If you have been reading my articles you will know
that one of the most important factors holding back the Huddersfield property
market is the lack of new properties being constructed and when they are, the
lack of infrastructure surrounding them.
Since
1995, only 4,740 properties have been built in HD1 to HD5
Yet, these new planning changes will also introduce a new method
of taking a lot more money off landowners and builders, as the Government will
take a larger share of uplift in land value (i.e. the increase in value from
farmland to building land) to finance infrastructure around the development.
This would mean new housing developments would come with upgraded roads, GP
surgeries, primary schools and shops that these new communities need to be
viable. Also, communities will be asked to decide on their own standards on
style and design for new developments in their area, allowing residents a
greater say on the development in their locality.
Like all things, the devil is in the detail. All of us in Huddersfield
cannot deny that we need to build more homes to keep up with the ever-growing
population and the fact that people are living longer. This new planning system should lead to
more housebuilding, which in turn would increase the supply of property for those trying to get on the property ladder. Also, in the
proposed legislation is the new ‘First Homes’ scheme, which would allow key workers, first time buyers and people who live or work in the Huddersfield area to purchase their new home at 30% less than its market value and when
they come to sell it, that 30% discount would be passed on to the new buyer (if
they also met the criteria).
With regard to what can be built and where, Huddersfield
people will have a say upfront (i.e. between now and 2024 when the zoning
rules are drawn up) but once the zoning has been established, then ‘nimbyism’
will become a thing of the past and hopefully we can construct the Huddersfield
homes we are proud of for our children and for Huddersfield generations to come.
Please do let me have your thoughts on this matter.
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