Get documents about "RHAF_061207_Agenda Item 5a Delivering the HGP
Document Sample
Place Shaping and the
Housing Green Paper
Richard McCarthy
Director General Housing and Planning
Outline
•Context - Current housing issues
•Government response - Housing Green Paper
•Role of planning to deliver on housing and place shaping
•Local Development Frameworks
•What needs to change
•The broader picture – economy and climate change
2
Context
Key Challenges:
• Growth in households continues to exceed supply of houses
• Despite recent improvements, housing completions remain historically low
New dwelling completions in England
400
thousands
300
200
100
0
1946
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
CLG live table 244, ASD 3
Context
Ratio of house prices to earnings
(lower quartile) 1999 and 2006
As a consequence
• As demand has grown
faster than supply
affordability has
worsened in all regions
• The lower quartile
house price to earnings
ratio increased from
3.84 in 1999 to 7.12 in
2006.
• Households waiting for social housing has risen by 60% in 10 years
• 0.5 million households are living in overcrowded accommodation
• Households in temporary accommodation has doubled in 10 years
4
Government response
Housing Green Paper announced
• plans to increase housing supply over time to deliver two million new homes by
2016 and three million by 2020
• new housing target to deliver 240,000 additional homes a year by 2016
Reinforced by PBR/CSR 07
• New Growth Points, including for the first time areas in the North of England
• Proposals for 10 eco-town schemes
• New £500million Housing and Planning Delivery Grant over the next 3 years
• New £300 million Community Infrastructure Fund
• New Planning Charge to support infrastructure
• Higher target of 200,000 new homes on surplus public sector land by 2016 5
Government response
Not just more houses – but better and more affordable homes
• Confirmation of target to ensure all new homes are zero carbon by 2016
• £8bn programme for affordable housing from 2008-11 with increases in
every region
• at least 70,000 affordable homes to be built a year by 2010/11
• at least 45,000 of these homes to be provided for social rent
• plans to help at least 25,000 households into Low Cost Home Ownership
per year
• new opportunities for councils to build additional social rented and shared
equity homes on their land through new Local Housing Companies and ALMOs
6
Local Government place shaping role
Local Government White Paper identified place-shaping as a key role for
local government
Place shaping involves
• strategic leadership bringing together agencies and partners
• joint vision for the future through the SCS and LDF core strategy
• spatial planning – to shape places and facilitate sustainable development
• delivering outcomes
The HGP makes it clear that Government is strongly committed to increasing
housing numbers through the RSS process.
LAs need to engage positively, through spatial planning, through the strategic housing
role, by engaging with partners at local / regional level and in private sector and through
efficient development control
Without engagement / positive planning the risk is that
• developers shape places for you
• you will run into difficulty under the new LG performance framework.
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Delivery through planning
Local Development Framework Core Strategy as the spatial vision
LDF core strategy isn’t just a planning document, it is the vision of what a local
authority wants to achieve, expressed in spatial terms.
It brings together the land, infrastructure and capital investment needs for key
services / outcomes over the long term including housing, education, health, transport,
economic development etc – can also include strategic sites.
Other Development Plan Documents set out more detail for action areas or specific
themes – but only where necessary for delivery of the core strategy.
The core strategy is underpinned by the infrastructure plan and – with the new planning
charge – provides the means to fund and deliver the vision.
By bringing together key agencies and the private sector it should provide the platform to
deliver this in a planned way
8
Delivery through planning
Crucially in the HGP context - planning identifies land for housing in a
sustainable way
Planning Policy Statement 3 (housing policy) requires Local Authorities to
• identify a rolling 5 years worth of deliverable sites (available, suitable and
achievable)
• identify land for housing for at least 15 years ahead in suitable locations.
• Making sufficient land available for housing is one of the indicators in the new LG
performance framework
• It will be rewarded by Housing and Planning Delivery Grant
• If 5 years land is not available PINS inspectors will be more likely to give housing
applications approval on appeal
9
Delivery through planning
Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessments are key
• They identify suitable land for housing over the long term (15 years)
• They provide the evidence base to underpin both LFD core strategies and
other DPDs
• Where appropriate - land identified in SHLAA can be formally allocated in
development plan documents.
• In places where an area action plan or housing allocation DPD are not
appropriate, or proportionate, or not yet in place - a properly prepared
SHLAA can be a material considerations for planning decisions.
HPDG proposals are to reward LAs who have a SHLAA in place – starting
in April 08
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Delivery through planning
RSS housing numbers are not ceilings
The appropriate level of housing should be determined through an assessment of a range
of issues including
• Evidence of need and demand
• Affordability
• Sustainability
Delivery of numbers in RSSs
• There is no expectation that the level of housing set out in RSSs should be treated
a maximum or ceiling
• In many places it will be more appropriate to treat these as a minimum
• None of the emerging Regional Spatial Strategies should refer to maximums given
current affordability levels and some are explicit that these are minimums
Flexibility
• Regional and local planning bodies must have plans that are flexible enough to
respond to changing housing market circumstances
11
Delivery of land: Where are we now?
PPS3 required LAs, from 1 April 2007, to be able to demonstrate whether
they have a 5 year supply of specific, deliverable sites for housing.
Whist we know that some LAs are delivering on this, progress is slow –
• Fewer than 15% of LAs have so far published their assessments
The overall amount of land released for housing has decreased over the
last 10 years
• Although housing numbers have gone up – this has been achieved by
increasing density.
• For the future - the supply of land will have to go up as well
• Need more outlets not just a few large sites.
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Land released for housing
Previous use of land changing to residential use, 1996-2004
3,500
All not previously developed land
All previously developed land
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0
1996 1997 1998 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
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Delivery through planning
Local Development Frameworks in the wider context
Key linkages
• Sustainable Community Strategy provides the strategic vision for a place,
identifies priorities and how to address difficult cross cutting issues
• Local Development Framework Core Strategy reflects that long term vision
spatially and brings partners together to focus on place, land, infrastructure
and capital investment.
• Local Area Agreement sets out priority objectives and provides LSP with a
mechanism for setting joint targets and clarifying who is responsible for
delivery. You may wish to include housing supply in key 35 targets.
LDF Core Strategies need to be developed alongside the SCS and LAA – many
LAs have moved LDFs to the corporate centre.
14
Planning Together: LSPs and Spatial Planning
(CLG 2007)
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LDFs: Where are we now?
Slippage of time
Slippage in programme of DPD production 2006 - 2007 and forecast over CSR07
1600
1400
1200
number of DPDs submitted
1000
800
600
400
200
0
06
07
07
08
08
09
09
10
10
11
6
7
8
9
0
06
07
08
09
10
6
7
8
9
0
6
7
8
9
0
-0
r-0
r-0
r-0
r-1
-0
-0
-0
-0
-1
-0
-0
-0
-0
-1
n-
g-
n-
g-
n-
g-
n-
n-
b-
b-
b-
g-
b-
g-
b-
r
ct
ec
ct
ec
ct
ec
ct
ec
ct
ec
Ap
Ap
Ap
Ap
Ap
Ju
Au
Ju
Ju
Fe
Au
Ju
Fe
Au
Fe
Au
Ju
Fe
Au
Fe
O
O
O
O
O
D
D
D
D
D
month/year
Intended programme of DPD production (In effect LDS August 07)
Total number of submissions to SofS (Reg 28) according to GO Estimates August 07
Actual submissions to SofS (Reg 28) August 07
Intended programme of DPD production (In effect LDS June 06) Cumulative total.
No of plans: 1,000 plans were originally forecast by end 2007 – only 150 now expected.
Quality of plans: 25% of submitted plans found to be unsound or withdrawn following advice
that would be found unsound. 16
Position in the West Midlands
RSS
The RSS Phase 2 Revision is due to be submitted in December 2007. This
proposes to increase regional housing growth to 19,000 per year to 2016, reducing
to 17,600 per year to 2026 (compared to around 12,500 in the current RSS)
Need to push on with LDF delivery now
Significant delays have occurred in DPD delivery and we need to see the pace pick
up urgently to deliver our collective aspirations. At present we expect only one
West Midlands authority to have adopted a Core Strategy by April 2009
Housing Growth
Four Growth Point Expressions of Interest and four Eco-town EOIs in this region
have been passed to the Government Office for assessment
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What needs to change
We believe LDFs remain the right approach – compared to old plans they are
they are more strategic, more flexible, more front loaded and evidence based.
However…
we recognise that the LDF process is not easy and, in some places, over-
engineered
We are simplifying the process through legislation, and new guidance from
April 2008 will for example
• Streamline the consultation processes so they are proportionate
• Allow for plans to be fixed when problems arise rather than having to
start the process all over again
• Remove sustainability appraisals where the issues have already been
considered
• Restate the elements of soundness
18
What needs to change
In the meantime,
• do not stop work on your development plan documents – especially
core strategies
• get the 5 year land supply in place
• complete the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessments
• talk to the Government Office to ensure that what you are doing will meet
requirements
Support is available though the Planning Advisory Service and there is the
opportunity to discuss with the Planning Inspectorate prior to submission.
19
Planning performance - Housing and
Planning Delivery Grant
LDFs are a statutory requirement and we will
• incentivise delivery through HPDG, which will reward the delivery of
sound core strategies and priority housing allocation plans on time
The Local Government Performance Framework includes indicators on
• The provision of land for housing – realistic 5 and 15 year supply
• housing completions – payments based on numbers delivered relative
to stock
• development control performance – abatements where performance
falls
These will also be incentivised through Housing & Planning Delivery Grant -
£510m over 3 years
Planning Performance Agreements are agreements between developers
and LAs on the timescales for determining applications. Applications
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determined in line with PPAs will be exempt from development control targets.
What needs to change
There needs to be a recognition that LDFs represent a fundamental change from old
style plans and require a different approach
LGA document - “Planning at the Heart of place shaping” set out some clear do’s and
don’ts
Do not
• Defer or stop developing plans – the world will never stand still
• Plan in silos – LDF core strategy must be fully integrated with key LA strategies
• Produce DPDs without questioning whether they are necessary and add value
Do
• Put planning at the heart of what you do – it lies at the centre of the strategic
LA role
• Integrate spatial issues into community consultation
• Look for help and support
• Resource LDFs properly
21
The broader picture
Focus on Housing Green Paper – but needs to be seen in the context
of LGWP, Planning WP, SNR, Climate Change Bill etc
Significant responsibilities at LA level to develop an effective spatial vision for your
area:
• New economic development duty
• Leading role in carbon reduction
• Leading role on housing supply
• New responsibilities on skills
• Leading role on developing the new single regional strategies and work at
sub regional level through MAAs etc
New powerful tools in place to shape and fund infrastructure – esp if tied to
prudential borrowing
• Supplementary business rate
• New planning charge – underpinned by infrastructure plan and LDF
22
All these issues are underpinned by partnership working and good planning
Conclusion
Place-making
Place shaping
Spatial planning
are all essentially addressing the same issues and all underpin
Successful sustainable communities
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