Ben Standing and Robert Wofinden, partners at Browne Jacobson, discuss why we need to look beyond ‘Nimbyism’ and engage communities with new development
The next destination is a “golden era of building”, says the government, as it drives a bulldozer through many of the barriers it believes have held us back from getting spades in the ground.
In identifying that a failing planning system is limiting the delivery of new housing and infrastructure development, it has correctly diagnosed a problem – but the merits of a treatment plan that takes a few shortcuts remain to be seen.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), published last week following a summer consultation, features a series of key changes that, when combined, shift the dial significantly in the approach to building houses, renewable energy schemes, and other big infrastructure projects.
Key changes in the NPPF
Among the headlines are mandatory housebuilding targets for councils, which are told they must approve proposals that align with up-to-date local plans “without delay”.
Where local plans are outdated, local authorities must apply a presumption in favour of granting permission, unless any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits.
While there’s a continued focus on brownfield land in the NPPF, councils will be urged to release more lower-quality green belt land by including a new “grey belt” definition.
This includes previously developed land within the green belt and green belt parcels that contribute minimally to its primary purposes. Examples could include quarries, car parks, golf courses, or leisure sites like caravan parks and wasteland.
In the short term, we can expect legal challenges against development plans on this type of land due to ambiguity around what is considered green belt or grey belt. Once this has been stress-tested, we’ll then start to see some form of clarity for developers.
To ‘modernise’ the planning approval process, a national scheme of delegation will be introduced under the proposals. This will streamline planning committees for strategic development, providing planning officers with enhanced decision-making powers to implement agreed planning policy.
Such measures, the government hopes, will help to deliver their ambition to build 1.5m homes over the next five years while developing homegrown renewable energy so that 95% of the grid is green by 2030.
These are two of six pledges that form part of the government’s Plan for Change, a set of milestones it hopes will grow the economy and make Britain a clean energy superpower.
The existing planning system deters investment
The reason for such drastic action is clear – the planning system as it stands simply doesn’t work for anyone. Achieving planning permission has become a slow, uncertain and expensive process that deters investment while burdening local planning authorities.
As a result, the 230,000 homes approved in the 12 months to June 2024 represented a 10-year low. Over the past decade, the number of new homes has averaged at 190,000 per year; to achieve its target, the government somehow must lift this to 300,000.
The Government must, therefore, tackle the wide range of blockers, which includes the shortage of experienced local authority planners, the complexity of the planning system and the volume of planning applications that don’t comply with the policy.
In amending the NPPF, the government hopes to set a more centralised planning policy for local decision-makers to follow. Broadly speaking, it has taken a bold, ‘stick’-led approach in order to meet its ambitious housebuilding targets. However, what is less clear is how it will protect traditional planning principles designed to create great places where people want to live.
Bypassing planning committees shouldn’t mean ignoring communities
Through this lens, the government must be careful not to ignore where local people fit into this complex placemaking jigsaw. While much of the wider narrative has focused on overhauling planning rules to tackle so-called ‘Nimbyism’, developers, local authorities, and national government must question whether they are doing enough to communicate the benefits of development.
We should acknowledge that communities hosting new public infrastructure – whether it’s housing developments or renewable energy projects – will be negatively affected in some way. At best, this will involve short- to medium-term disruption; at worst, it could lead to overcapacity of schools, GPs, and transport networks.
These problems aren’t going away because of tweaks to the NPPF, so it’s important to follow this new policy statement with a focus on how we bring communities on board with new developments rather than fostering a feeling they have been imposed against local will.
In a report on community-powered regeneration published in partnership with the think-tank New Local, we called for a shift from adversarial to an enabling system, which gives communities more influence to shape development and ensure it meets local needs.
This could involve incentivising residents living near renewable energy projects with cheaper electricity and investment opportunities, or dovetailing housing developments with community funding pots that are distributed to support important projects identified by local people as helping to ensure they benefit from development.
Ultimately, this is all about shifting the narrative around development. Meaningful engagement with communities from the outset of any plans, via a public-private partnership of developer and local authority, can help to identify any issues that could be positively addressed by new infrastructure.
Resolving these issues before they become bigger problems and showcasing the benefits as they arise can help to paint a far more positive picture for development among local people.
More planning officers are needed
To reach the full potential of UK housebuilding, more action will likely be needed to address skills shortages.
The construction skills gap is well-known, with the Home Builders Federation reporting that for every 10,000 extra new homes pledged by the government, another 30,000 recruits are needed across 12 trades.
To meet the 300,000 annual target, its workforce estimations include 20,000 new bricklayers, 20,000 groundworkers, 8,00 carpenters and 2,400 plumbers.
In addition, the shortage of planning officers in local authorities needs addressing because the new guidance will be resource-intensive, while there’s a greater onus on councils to regularly update their local plans. Presently, only one-third have a local plan that’s under five years old.
Councils we work with often say they must consider the merits of large, complex developments that require specific expertise to handle a wide range of planning and legal issues.
Developer clients have said the existing system largely works if councils are equipped with sufficient resources. Without it, navigating the system becomes an arduous task that costs time and expense.
The government has pledged to recruit 300 new planners by 2026, but this will work out at roughly one per local authority under existing local government structures.
Therefore, alongside the revised NPPF, we must see a co-ordinated and funded strategy from the government to help local authorities recruit additional officers and provide necessary training to existing staff. A dedicated central resource of specific skills could also support councils on the most complex planning applications.
To summarise, the government has now shown its hand with a bold step forward in addressing issues with the planning system that have until now put a blocker on developing new housing and other key infrastructure.
If it is truly to usher in a new “golden era of building”, though, it must meaningfully engage with communities to secure their support while addressing underlying skills gaps.
