A new report by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), entitled ‘Property in politics’, calls for a new designation of land entitled ‘amberfield’ to address housing shortages, where local authorities work together to promote development opportunities.
The report includes a series of twelve recommendations are proposed overall – covering housing, planning and development, construction and infrastructure.
RICS writes:
Our Property in Politics report sets out bold new vision for property market.
RICS has proposed a new solution to solve the UK’s chronic housing shortage in the Property in Politics report launched today.
Among a raft of recommendations, the report recommends the introduction of a new land classification, Amberfield – which would create a pipeline of ‘ready to go’ land, increasing housing supply and promoting development opportunities.
Under RICS proposals, local authorities and communities will have to work together to label sites favourable for development as Amberfield and each local plan will have to include a set quota of amberfield, ready to be developed for housing. The quota is expected to be set between 30% and 50% but the framework and guidelines for each quota would be open to consultation in order to match the specific needs of each local authority and community.
Amberfield sites would have to be developed within five years and therefore local authorities will be required to approve planning consent for Amberfield within a set time frame, otherwise the authority would risk being classed as ‘failing’ under the RICS proposed OfPlan assessment*. The new classification will enable local housing needs to be met and would create a five-year land supply that works for communities and builders. The community will have better understanding of the planning process, more control over what is built where, and be able to see the long term development plan.
While both brownfield and greenfield play an important role in the current planning system, both classifications block or slow development and local growth is being impeded by extensive battles to bring forward land. Amberfield will speed up the process and take out cost for both developers and local authorities – enabling homes to be built faster on the agreed sites. It will provide certainty to investors, unlocking development opportunities, and will also encourage local infrastructure investment.
The review of land classification, coupled with the other RICS recommendations – including development delivery units and a nationwide housing zones programme – will cut through the bureaucracy barriers, speeding up housing delivery and encouraging cooperation across local authority boundaries, stitching together the regions.
The RICS Property in Politics report is the result of the largest consultation ever undertaken by RICS, with property professionals from across England sharing insight into the biggest challenges currently facing housing, planning & development, construction and infrastructure and what actions a future Government should take to remedy them.
