Planning for affordable housing Michael Newey Past President, RICS : CEO, Broadland Housing
Topics Broadland Housing The demand for more affordable homes The Government s direction of travel pre BREXIT Freeing up Brownfield sites Implications of starter homes on S106 Outsourcing planning decisions Self build
Broadland Housing Group Our priorities Fit for purpose management and asset management Helping tenants stay in homes Reducing fuel poverty Involving tenants more Building new homes Digital services Value for money Traditional - not ex local authority 5,000 homes Urban and rural Norfolk
Context
An uneven crisis 50% of lowest quartile income earners spend more than 50% of their income on housing costs National average is 21%
The underlying problem
House building projection to 2019 Source: Lucian Cook, Savills2015
Changing social housing grant rates
The Queen s Speech My government will support aspiration and promote home ownership through its commitment to build a million new homes 18 th May 2016
Philip Hammond s Autumn Statement Funding Additional 1.4 bn for 40,000 homes Flexibility Relaxations to allow rented tenures Infrastructure 2.3 bn to unlock land for 100,000 homes 9/17 mentions
A cautionary thought
An imminent Housing White Paper major, long-lasting reform. I m not talking about small tweaks, building a thousand homes here or a thousand homes there. I m talking about major, long-lasting reform that will carry on delivering homes well after I ve left office.
The Housing and Planning Act 2016 Boost housebuilding Increase homeownership levels Streamline the planning system Use social sector housing more efficiently Improve enforcement in the private rented sector Section Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Topic New homes in England Rogue landlords and property agents Recovering abandoned premises Social Housing Housing, estate agencies and rent charges Planning in England Compulsory Purchase
Starter Homes Target 200,000 Starter Homes by 2020 New duty to promote supply of starter homes for local authorities Sold with at least 20% discount to FTBs between 23 and 40 years old Sale value no more than 250k ( 400k London) after discount
Starter homes Resale arrangements are to be finalised with tapering instead of windfall at year 5 Likely that the Government will seek 20% provision on all private sites of 10+ homes as part of condition of planning permission except Rural Exception Sites
Confusion on exceptions
The Redfern Review Starter homes should be retained but on exception sites only and with the first time buyer discount retained in perpetuity. (But with the discount preserved in perpetuity)
Concerns on starter homes Not in addition to affordable housing, but part of it Inevitable reduction in potential numbers of affordable homes for rent Developers will sell starter homes direct, so the HA/House builder relationship will reduce
Self build Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 Local Authorities to grant planning permission on serviced plots, sufficient to meet the demand for self-build housing in their area Introduced registers to monitor the demand of self-build and custom housebuilding, and will be used as evidence development permission need.
Tweaked by the Housing and Planning Act Tweaks the new duty on councils to : give suitable development permission in respect of enough serviced plots of land to meet the demand for self-build and custom housebuilding in the authority s area".
Self build issues Mechanics of allocating land in a local plan and custom build unless driven by land owner Interesting challenge if part of S106 with a housing association
Brownfield Registers Commitment that 90% of suitable brownfield sites have planning permission for housing by 2020 HPA makes provision for local authorities to prepare, maintain and publish a register of brownfield land. The register should identify previously developed sites in the District that the Council has assessed as being suitable for housing.
Brownfield sites But planning not tied to delivery Some Local Authorities are considering de-risking sites Concern that cost in most parts of the country will outweigh delivery
73 Pilot Local Authorities Bassetlaw Bath and North East Somerset Blackpool Bolton Bristol City Broxtowe Bury Central Bedfordshire Colchester Corby Cornwall Dover Dudley East Devon East Northamptonshire East Riding Exeter City Gateshead Gedling Hart Hyndburn Kettering Kingston upon Hull Mid Devon Milton Keynes NE Lincolnshire North Somerset Northampton Northumberland Nottingham Oldham Oxford Pendle Preston City Rochdale Rossendale Rotherham Runnymede Rushcliffe Salford Sandwell South Gloucestershire South Ribble South Tyneside Stockport Stroud Swindon Tameside Teignbridge Telford & Wrekin Thurrock Torbay Trafford Walsall Waverley Wellingborough West Oxfordshire Wolverhampton
Example
Planning in principle Planning Permission in Principle For housing on sites allocated in local and neighbourhood plans or identified on the new brownfield register
Planning in principle Land identified locally as being suitable for housing to be automatically granted consent for in principle location, use and amount of housing. Matters of technical detail such as the detailed design of the houses will be agreed later
More than outsourcing Outsourcing? Granting consents The possibility of allowing planning applications to be processed by alternative providers rather than the local planning authority E.g. capita @ Breckland
Relevant issues Concern that 60% of the 322 English Councils do not have an up dated local plan or are having problems with 5 year land supply How does an alternative supplier make decisions and how will these affect local communities? Who does pre commencement conditions? Does this start to say should UK counties have only one planning authority at county level? Could strategic planning then come back? Do we have providers that understand local design or does design go completely out the window?
Summary Housing is in a state of crisis, especially for lower income families Starter homes for the squeezed middle, but could reduce homes for the squashed bottom Brownfield registers great, but challenge on clean up costs to drive supply Affordable rented housing delivery as much linked to welfare system as driven by capital grants Allocating land for self build will be problematical, but a good idea Planning in principle great initiative, but many authorities behind on development plans
My conclusion The danger of redefining affordable housing to primarily home ownership will be a lack of new supply for the growing numbers needing rented homes at low rents The Housing White Paper is a critical missing part of the housing jigsaw sooner the better!