New Planning Policy Statement 3 increases the government's
emphasis on the use of the planning system to secure affordable housing.
Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3) was published last November along with a
separate policy document on affordable housing. It attempts to give local councils
in England much greater control over the tenure, mix and design of new housing
in response to what is perceived as a failure by the private sector to deliver
housing of the right type at the right price.
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Amongst a flurry of activity since
the Planning Policy Statement (PPS) was published there were two debates
on the subject on 17th January. In the House of Lords DCLG Minister Baroness
Andrews said that the government must develop a variety of strategies
to deliver more affordable homes. At the same time at a debate in Westminster
Hall, another DCLG Minister, Meg Munn, said that the: |
'latest household projections suggest that an additional 209,000 households
will form every year until 2026. In 2005, only 168,000 new homes were delivered
and the level of new housing actually fell by 50% between 1970 and 2000. That
gap is not sustainable and the result is higher house prices'
'Release some more land then! I hear you cry. Whilst, to be fair, that is supposed
to be part of the government's strategy it takes an awfully long time as we
all know. Turning the screws on affordable housing provision in England can
be achieved much quicker, however, and all that does is decrease the proportion
of market housing in an already undersupplied market squeezing prices even further,
thus fuelling the call for yet more affordable housing - and so it goes on,
theoretically until there's no new market housing to buy!' writes Chris Simkins,
Operational Director at RPS.
A recent Secretary of State 'Call In' decision regarding a site in Swindon (10th
January 2007) gives another insight. This related to a situation where the local
authority were minded to grant planning permission for 200 houses on a disused
private playing field in return for a substantial contribution (£4m) towards
alternative sporting facilities. As a result the scheme could only support 10%
affordable housing instead of the 30% guideline in the Local Plan. In refusing
the application (on this basis alone) the Secretary of State concluded that:
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'There is a substantial need for affordable housing in the Borough, and the
Council has an opportunity with the proposed development to ensure the provision
of 30% affordable housing in a highly sustainable location on a readily available
site. She considers that the application scheme with only 10% affordable housing
fails to meet this opportunity'
If this is an indication of things to come, as it probably is, the scope for
negotiation on affordable housing is going to reduce to something resembling
'take it or leave it'. This decision also includes an early reference to PPS3
that has been seen in a Secretary of State planning decision. This seems to
suggest that, whilst Local Planning Authorities are not required to have regard
to the advice until April 1st, the Secretary of State does. In this case she
concluded that it was not material to her decision because it didn't affect
her conclusions.
As far as our clients are concerned this recent decision is important in that
we all need to be aware that trading affordable housing off against other planning
obligation costs is increasingly likely to attract the attention of HMG especially
on larger schemes. More generally, we can expect affordable housing to become
even more of a sticking point for many developments in the coming months.
For more information contact:
RPS Swindon
T: 01793 818100
This article reflects the personal opinions of the author and does not necessarily represent any corporate view held by RPS as a company.