“GARDEN GRABBING” AND HOUSING DENSITY
Following a recent government announcement the national planning policy statement (PPS3) on housing has been amended in two key areas; firstly, private residential gardens have now been excluded from the definition of previously developed land (or “brown-field” land), and secondly, minimum density targets for housing developments have been scrapped.
The impact of these revisions to national policy could be far-reaching and make it much harder to gain planning permission on garden land. It is widely expected that the move will be seen as empowering local councils to reject applications for what they see as damaging and un-neighbourly developments on garden land, a trend that has increased over the past ten years.
Power will also be given back to local authority planners over the density of housing developments, which the government believes should now be decided locally to get the right mix of homes for the community. The previous minimum density figure of 30 dwellings to the hectare no longer exists with the government hoping that local planning authorities will set out a range of densities across their area rather than one broad density range.
Many commentators have argued that the revisions constitute a “Nimby’s charter” for those wishing to object to housing developments. The government, on the other hand, see these changes merely as the first stage of reforms that will see “council and communities centre stage”. It is commonly believed that the old density rules had pushed developers to build flats rather than larger homes.
When taken with the earlier government announcements about the intended abolition of the regional planning tier and promises for stronger green belt controls, the net effect is likely to hit a faltering housing supply chain hard.
“It would appear that the whole future of the Local Development Framework system is up for grabs in what looks set for yet another major programme of planning reform”, said Paul Sutton Head of Planning at Cheffins.
Cheffins Planning team will be monitoring this ever-changing situation to ensure that they are always able to offer the most up-to-date advice.
