Housing Targets Will Not Be Reduced

The government intends to change the calculation of local housing need to stop councils citing the lower 2016 household projections issued by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) as a reason to reduce totals. A consultation that runs until 7 December proposes that for the short term, the 2014-based data will be used to assess local housing need. National planning guidance would make it clear that the lower numbers in the ONS’ 2016-based projections “do not qualify as an exceptional circumstance that justifies a departure from the standard methodology”. The consultation said the 2016-based ONS projections had “led some areas to reconsider the number of homes they were planning for”. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/housing-targets-will-not-be-reduced-based-on-lower-household-projections-58804

Mayor Consults on Housing Quality Guidance

The Mayor of London has offered up for public consultation new planning guidance he claims will maximise the construction of quality homes. Interested parties are being invited to comment on the new guidance, which includes detail on building specifically for long-term private rentals, the potential introduction of affordable housing targets in new areas, and more details on vacant building credits for developers. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.

Ministers Make U-Turn on Affordable Housing Dodge

Conservative ministers have been forced to rethink planning guidance that critics claimed was a shambles and would have allowed property developers to avoid an estimated £1bn in payments towards affordable homes. The “empty building credit” would have allowed developers to avoid paying for homes for poorer people if they emptied buildings for a period before converting them to private flats. But the government quietly changed the guidance on 26 March to give councils powers to test whether a building had been made vacant for the sole purpose of redevelopment and if they could insist on affordable housing payments. It also gave councils powers to block attempts by developers who had already agreed to make affordable housing payments from resubmitting planning papers under the new system in a bid to avoid what Brandon Lewis, the Conservative housing minister, branded “a stealth tax”. Read more on the Guardian website.

Revised Guidance on Housing Provision for Elderly

Housing and planning minister Brandon Lewis has unveiled revised planning guidance which requires councils to take better account of the needs of older residents when planning new homes in their area. The guidance stresses that councils should ensure a wide range of different properties are built in their area to meet the diverse housing needs of people as they get older - including bungalows. Where local planning authorities do not consider it appropriate to allocate such sites, they should ensure that there are sufficiently robust criteria in place to set out when such homes will be permitted. This might be supplemented by setting appropriate targets for the number of these homes to be built. Read more on the Planning Portal.

Better Homes and Bungalows for Britain's Older People

Older people should be given a greater choice where to live during their retirement under plans outlined by Housing Minister Brandon Lewis. With around 1 in 6 people aged over 65, Mr Lewis said anyone wanting to move should have the option to do so – but should also get help if they want to stay in their own home. The minister is publishing new planning guidance asking councils to take better account of the needs of their older residents when planning new homes in their area. This will make clear the responsibility councils have to ensure a wide range of different properties are built in their area to meet the diverse housing needs of people as they get older – including for bungalows where they are needed. Read more on the CLG website.

Row Over Housing Land Viability Test

A row has broken out over guidance designed to make councils take into account the economic viability of land they allocate for new homes. The planning guidance, published by the Local Housing Delivery Steering Group, advises councils how to test the viability of sites, as required in the government’s National Planning Policy Framework. This is supposed to be in order to ensure that it is actually possible to develop on the land allocated for housing in councils’ local plans. However, a row has broken out over how the guidance assesses the likely price at which land-owners will sell sites to developers. The guidance says this should be calculated on the basis of what it is worth under its existing use plus a small premium. But opponents say that land is unlikely to come forward for development unless landowners can sell it at the market value it commands as a housing site. Download a copy of the guidance from the Local Government Association website.

Government Announces National Planning Policy Framework

The government has released the final version of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), reducing more than 1000 pages of planning guidance to around 50. From the definition of sustainable development, to concerns about protection of green belt land, the draft policy was met with criticism from many, so how did the final version measure up?  Read the views of a wide range of experts on the Guardian website.