ROOF Blog

Housing and planning minister John Healey has published research claiming that inappropriate building on back gardens is not a widespread, national problem and is often linked to councils’ failure to have local policies in place. He told the small minority of councils who reported issues in ‘hot spot’ areas that the power to act is already in their own hands if they establish clear, local policies. The intensive, countrywide review by Kingston University was commissioned last year to assess the nature and extent of the issue across the country and how it could be tackled. Garden grabbing can affect the character of an area if very different properties are built alongside family homes. The research concluded that although the issue is not a widespread national problem, a minority of councils in London, the South East and West Midlands had reported an impact in their areas.

Britain is unlikely to return quickly to the peak rate of housebuilding during the boom of the past decade, the chief executive of Taylor Wimpey has said. Despite reporting a rise in demand for new homes that was better than expected - running at nearly a third higher than the dark days at the end of 2008 - Peter Redfern said that planning requirements would hold back a wholesale recovery in building volumes. Mr Redfern said: ‘At the peak, the industry in the UK was building 170,000 units. That has halved and last year the industry completed around 85,000 to 90,000 units. It will be a very long time before we get back to those high volumes because of the constraints on land availability and the planning system.’

Housing and Planning Minister John Healey has proposed a more consumer-friendly green rating for homes that will promote energy efficient properties and reduce future utility bills by up to £1500 a year in the most energy efficient homes. The Code for Sustainable Homes was ratified in April 2007 as a standard to measure improvement in the overall sustainability of new homes. Mr Healey is proposing changes in the Code to make it easier for consumers, whether they are developers or individuals simply wanting to grade and track the sustainability of their properties. Mr Healey said: ‘Our homes account for a quarter of UK carbon emissions, so it’s clear they are a vital part of our efforts to tackle climate change. The Code has proved its worth but now is the time to make it a more user-friendly standard for consumers. In the future, this will help drive uptake so people will save more money on bills and reduce the carbon footprint of new homes.’

Commercial law firm EMW Picton Howell has said that the number of planning applications withdrawn by developers has increased dramatically in the past year as local planning authorities put pressure on developers to withdraw so they can meet government time limits for determining applications. The percentage of planning applications being withdrawn, called in or turned away has jumped by 63 per cent since 2001/02.

The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) has claimed that designing eco-towns to be more inclusive would cost no more if it was factored into the planning process early on, and has produced guidance on how to it. It says that eco-towns should provide for all inhabitants regardless of age, disability, faith or gender, and avoid creating barriers that prevent them from becoming part of their communities. A spokesperson for TCPA said it was essential for each town to be socially as well as environmentally sustainable.

Communities and Local Government will reveal before 21 July which of its programmes’ budgets are to be cut to help fund the £1.5 billion housing package, and has suggested the Homes and Communities Agency may bear the brunt. Director-general of housing and planning at the department has insisted that reports that the Decent Homes programme would be plundered are not true. He said he would give details before the summer recess of parliament starts.

A new report has suggested that the European Commission could be asked to help deliver eco-towns in England. The report recognises that eco-towns in Europe have benefited from strong local authorities, who are ‘deeply committed to the sustainable development agenda’ over a long period, and the current credit crunch will add to delivery and implementation problems. The report concludes that a work programme is needed for the next three years which seeks to improve UK capacity and bring together public and private stakeholders who can work across sectors and boundaries.

Planning applications received by district-level authorities in England in the past quarter are down 30 per cent in year on year figures, Communities and Local Government data shows, with decisions made on residential developments of 10 or more homes falling by 46 per cent. The CLG acknowledged that the recession has had an impact on the number of applications, but added it would continue to streamline the planning system in anticipation of the recovery.

The Confederation of Business Industry has said that delays in the planning system are discouraging major investment in renewable energy. It said little progress has been made in quickening up the planning process and that business was being prevented from investing in the new low-carbon technology. It wants the government to publish national policy statements to boost investor confidence.

Meanwhile, the financial incentives given to councils to speed up housing planning applications to meet the 13-week target has had some ‘perverse’ consequences, a parliamentary committee has found. The MPs found that while the incentives have helped double the number of developments, they have had a number of unforeseen side effects such as a greater proportion of rejections.