A coalition of groups have written jointly to the Guardian to express the desire for more funding to go back into projects for the public good where land values increase as a result of gaining planning permission.
The RTPI writes:
The RTPI has urged the UK Government to put in place a mechanism whereby a proportion of the increase in land value associated with public investment in infrastructure or planning permission, is used to fund public goods. The call was made in a joint letter, published in The Guardian, signed by the RTPI and ten other natonal built environment organisations including the National Housing Federation and the Adam Smith Institute.
The letter reads:
The level of the annual shortfall in housing delivery suggests that a step change is needed in the very mechanisms whereby houses are delivered (Crisis, what housing crisis? We just need fresh thinking, 1 October). This, however, is not just about building houses; it’s about place creation, which means delivering social, environmental and physical infrastructure alongside housing.
In the present climate we cannot look only to public spending to do this. It is time to look for additional funding from the windfall in value which goes directly to private landowners when public investment in infrastructure is made, or planning permission is granted on a piece of land. There needs to be a fairer way of sharing this land value uplift between landowners and the community, to fund the housing and infrastructure the country needs. As a coalition we are asking for the UK government to put in place a mechanism whereby a proportion of this increase in land value is used to fund public goods. It’s time to tap into this source of additional public funding. It’s time for a fair deal on land.
- Trudi Elliott Chief executive officer, Royal Town Planning Institute
- Tom Papworth Senior fellow, Adam Smith Institute
- Campbell Robb CEO, Shelter
- David Orr Chief executive, National Housing Federation
- Kate Henderson Chief executive officer, Town and Country Planning Association
- Jon Sparkes Chief executive, Crisis
- Terrie Alafat Chief executive, Chartered Institute of Housing
- Stephen Howlett Chief executive, Peabody
- Mark Walton Executive director, Shared Assets
- Sue Percy Chief executive, Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation
- Caroline Julian Head of policy programmes, ResPublica
