Adrian Aston considers if the much anticipated Localism Bill will assist developers and facilitate much needed regeneration in local communities. The much anticipated Localism Bill has implications that will extend far beyond the system of planning. Developers in particular will be dealing with a whole new set of rules, many of which are yet to be defined. The Coalition Government wants to strip Whitehall of its powers and devolve greater freedom to councils and neighbourhoods. The bill will establish powerful new rights for communities and give them much more control over housing decisions in their area. The biggest area of concern for most developers will be that localism becomes ‘Nimbyism’, with local communities using their new powers to delay, deflect and avoid development. Developers will need to take on board the requirement for increased consultation to try and avoid this situation. How well they work with the local community will be critical. Developers who are willing to work closely with community groups and town and parish councils could facilitate the incorporation of their own requirements at the outset, facilitating an easier route to achieving planning permission. In reality there is often much distrust between local people and developers and it is likely to take some time to reverse this perception. Mandatory consultation may also be introduced as a pre-requirement for planning permission. Currently the bill includes no detail about what size of project will have to meet the requirement for mandatory consultation but an impact assessment document suggests that the duty to consult would apply to only large ‘strategic’ developments of 200 or more homes or 10,000 square meters of floor space. Some community groups have expressed alarm at this; they are looking for a much smaller threshold. The coming months will reveal what this threshold will be, but there is no doubt that developers should prepare to invest more time and money in consultation. Before the last election the conservative government promised improvements to the planning system to make it faster and more efficient. The Home Builders Federation published figures that showed that the time taken to get planning permission rose to 15 months under the previous Labour government. Revolutionary changes do not come without a price and it is likely to be the developers who have to pay the price on this occasion and this will not stimulate much needed regeneration.
Thursday, 7 April 2011
Localism Bill
Adrian Aston considers if the much anticipated Localism Bill will assist developers and facilitate much needed regeneration in local communities. The much anticipated Localism Bill has implications that will extend far beyond the system of planning. Developers in particular will be dealing with a whole new set of rules, many of which are yet to be defined. The Coalition Government wants to strip Whitehall of its powers and devolve greater freedom to councils and neighbourhoods. The bill will establish powerful new rights for communities and give them much more control over housing decisions in their area. The biggest area of concern for most developers will be that localism becomes ‘Nimbyism’, with local communities using their new powers to delay, deflect and avoid development. Developers will need to take on board the requirement for increased consultation to try and avoid this situation. How well they work with the local community will be critical. Developers who are willing to work closely with community groups and town and parish councils could facilitate the incorporation of their own requirements at the outset, facilitating an easier route to achieving planning permission. In reality there is often much distrust between local people and developers and it is likely to take some time to reverse this perception. Mandatory consultation may also be introduced as a pre-requirement for planning permission. Currently the bill includes no detail about what size of project will have to meet the requirement for mandatory consultation but an impact assessment document suggests that the duty to consult would apply to only large ‘strategic’ developments of 200 or more homes or 10,000 square meters of floor space. Some community groups have expressed alarm at this; they are looking for a much smaller threshold. The coming months will reveal what this threshold will be, but there is no doubt that developers should prepare to invest more time and money in consultation. Before the last election the conservative government promised improvements to the planning system to make it faster and more efficient. The Home Builders Federation published figures that showed that the time taken to get planning permission rose to 15 months under the previous Labour government. Revolutionary changes do not come without a price and it is likely to be the developers who have to pay the price on this occasion and this will not stimulate much needed regeneration.
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