Organisations, planners, lawyers, consultants and pressure groups have given a cautious welcome to the Localism Bill but highlighted considerable uncertainty over the detail of key measures.
CABE
CABE’s chief executive, Richard Simmons, said: ‘Despite all the headlines about neighbourhood planning, Local Plans will still be fundamentally important. It’s crucial they are fit for purpose and CABE’s work with local authorities found that many struggle to tell the story of a place. Councils will need plenty of support to create effective plans. CABE welcomes the presumption in favour of sustainable development. In particular, the decision to retain the central definition from 2008 Planning Act of ‘mitigating and adapting to climate change and achieving good design’. This could ensure that design quality remains a central focus of the planning system. We also welcome the opportunity this Bill creates for all schemes to undergo independent examination. Tools like design review and Building for Life allow for a process which focuses on quality and works in the public interest, which is what every community wants.’
The CABE response to the the Localism Bill shows four opportunities to improve design quality through the new planning system:
1. Local solutions to create distinctive places
We know that people tend to be more accepting of well designed, locally distinctive new development. Through the neighbourhood planning process, people will be engaged in creating the criteria by which local development will be assessed, which should lead to better designed, higher quality places.
2. Collaboration, not just consultation
Through the development of neighbourhood planning as the bedrock of the new approach, planning will become a collaborative, rather than simply consultative, process in which communities come together to solve their own housing and development issues. Collaboration alone will not necessarily deliver well designed places. But provided there is access to independent advice, the new system could ensure that everyone’s voice is heard, not just those that are most articulate.
3. A clear expectation of quality
The new system will introduce a National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and simplified minimum standards to replace the extensive suite of planning policy and guidance. The establishment of minimum standards for architecture and design will create an expectation of quality, whilst allowing for locally distinctive standards to be developed by the community in partnership with councillors and planning professionals.
4. A duty to cooperate
Increasingly, the competitiveness of a place depends on attracting and retaining a skilled workforce, which in turn is dependent on providing a distinctive and high quality living and working environment. In many areas it makes sense for local authorities to work together at a more strategic level, particularly on issues which affect economic development. One of the things that impacts on an area’s economic performance is the condition of the built environment, therefore the duty to cooperate should lead to better quality places.
Others
Shaun Andrews, director of planning, development and regeneration at GL Hearn, said: “Yes local people will be given some power through the new neighbourhood plans, and increased power to Parish Councils, but will local communities grab the opportunity in the numbers envisaged by the coalition government? Or, as we have seen with the local development framework process, will some local authorities have a threadbare, patchwork quilt of half-plans for many years to come?
“In any event, local authorities will undoubtedly struggle with the additional coordination required with fewer resources – it will take some time for the old plans to be phased out and the new phased in.”
Turley Associates chief executive Rob Lucas said: “The bill is high on principle with neighbourhoods creating their own plans and granting development consents. It is unsurprisingly low on the detail of how this is to be achieved practically and fairly.”
BNP Paribas Real Estate senior planner Justin Cove said: “Sadly, the Bill will continue to raise far more questions than answers until more detailed guidance is issued. Nevertheless, it has now been released and it is up to local communities, local authorities and the development industry to respond to its challenges.”
RTPI president Ann Skippers said: “We have waited a long time for the Bill but there is still great uncertainty about key planning reforms, the issue of financial incentives and no implementation plan, all of which are likely to have an unwanted impact in stalling much-needed economic recovery because no one knows how the planning system will work.
“The key area of neighbourhood planning in particular remains unclear, with huge questions remaining over how communities will be supported to achieve effective plans.”
Town and Country Planning Association chief executive Kate Henderson said: “The duty to cooperate to encourage and enable local authorities and public bodies to come together on issues that cross local government boundaries, offers the potential for a strategic planning framework in large areas where collaborative strategies are needed. However, co-operation once embarked upon will need to be monitored and mechanisms for mediation between partners will also have to be made available if necessary.”
British Property Federation chief executive Liz Peace said: “One of the keys to getting the balance right will depend on whether the Government can successfully complement the new emphasis on neighbourhoods with greater incentives to local authorities to back development. The introduction of a presumption in favour of sustainable development should be helpful as long as it is not so hedged around with caveats and exemptions as to be totally meaningless.”
Fiona Howie, head of planning at the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said: “CPRE believes the introduction of a limited ‘community right of appeal’ is crucial to ensure that development is in line with the vision set out by local people. If it is not, then many may consider neighbourhood plans not to be worth the effort.”
Home Builders Federation executive chairman Stewart Baseley said: “The Government and councils need to join us in educating communities of the severity of the housing crisis and the benefits of new homes.”
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said: “The Localism Bill will herald a ground-breaking shift in power to councils and communities overturning decades of central government control and starting a new era of people power.
“It is the centrepiece of what this Government is trying to do to fundamentally shake up the balance of power in this country. For too long, everything has been controlled from the centre – and look where it’s got us. Central government has kept local government on a tight leash, strangling the life out of councils in the belief that bureaucrats know best.
“By getting out of the way and letting councils and communities run their own affairs we can restore civic pride, democratic accountability and economic growth – and build a stronger, fairer Britain. It’s the end of the era of big government: laying the foundations for the Big Society.”
CABE News: LINK
Search Planning Portal: LINK
