Johnson’s Planning Laws An ‘Utter Disaster’, Say Countryside Campaigners

A dramatic loosening of planning laws to create a housebuilding boom will damage local democracy and destroy swathes of countryside by granting property developers a freer hand to build over green fields, planning experts have warned. The new laws, part of the government’s “Project Speed” to accelerate infrastructure projects, are intended to increase the number of homes being planned by more than a third. But critics described them as “an utter disaster” which would return the country to “a deregulated dark age of development”. Read more on the Guardian website.

Johnson’s planning laws an ‘utter disaster’, say countryside campaigners | Queen's speech | The Guardian 

New Affordable Housing Definition Could Halve Rural Rents

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) says its stats show low income families living in communities across the countryside could save more than £31 million a year – if affordable rent levels were set according to the net income of tenants, rather than market rates. Analysis released by CPRE comes with a call for changes to how ‘affordable’ housing is defined. Currently, rents set at 80% of the standard market rate are classified as ‘affordable’, which is still out of reach for many families and those on low incomes. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/new-affordable-housing-definition-could-halve-rural-rents/

New Homes Eroding Green Belt 'At Fastest Rate For 20 Years'

The number of houses planned for England’s green belt has risen to 275,000, nearly 200,000 more than four years ago, making a mockery of government pledges to protect the countryside, a report says. The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) says the number of planned homes on the green belt has increased by 55,000 in a year, with the area around London and the West Midlands under particular threat. The group accuses councils of altering green belt boundaries to accommodate housing at the fastest rate for two decades, and the government of facilitating the practice. Read more on the Guardian website.

Country Landowners Demand Action on Residential Conversion Rights

Councils are blocking the conversion of farm buildings into homes, which is hindering the growth of rural economies, according to a lobby group that represents country landowners. The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) has written to housing and planning minister Brandon Lewis urging him to take action against local authorities it claims are ignoring permitted development rights to transform the use of agricultural buildings to a residential purpose.  Statistics from CLG show that since the law changed to encourage more conversion of agricultural buildings only one third of applications for conversion of farm buildings to homes have been permitted by local authorities. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.

Towns Are Targeted For New Housing

Ministers are to sweep away planning restrictions on disused urban sites in a bid to reduce the impact of new house building on the countryside. Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles said that the Government planned to ‘augment’ its controversial planning reforms with the introduction of ‘practical ways of removing red tape’. These will include a ‘relaxation’ of the rules that make it difficult to convert warehouses and industrial premises into flats and housing estates. This could lead to the construction of a string of new housing developments on edge-of-town sites, reducing the need for house building in open countryside. Plans also include a package of measures to ‘regenerate’ so-called brownfield sites, which have been developed before. Read more on the Daily Mail website.