Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that proposals in the Supporting Housing Delivery and Public Service Infrastructure consultation do not lead to developments that (1) fail to meet adequate design standards, and (2) fail to contribute to local areas and result in poorer living environments.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The new homes delivered under the Class E to residential Permitted Development Right will help to increase housing supply. The Right will include a prior approval process to allow for local consideration of specific planning matters such as the impact of the introduction of residential use in general industrial, waste management, or storage and distribution areas on future occupiers. In addition, all new homes delivered under the Right will need to meet Nationally Described Space Standards and provide adequate natural light in all habitable rooms. A full Impact Assessment has been prepared which will be published shortly.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how their proposals in the Supporting Housing Delivery and Public Service Infrastructure consultation to allow the conversion of use Class E units to residential will operate alongside local plans that have already been developed to identify where housing should be situated.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The new homes delivered under the Class E to residential Permitted Development Right will help to increase housing supply. The Right will include a prior approval process to allow for local consideration of specific planning matters such as the impact of the introduction of residential use in general industrial, waste management, or storage and distribution areas on future occupiers. In addition, all new homes delivered under the Right will need to meet Nationally Described Space Standards and provide adequate natural light in all habitable rooms. A full Impact Assessment has been prepared which will be published shortly.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to consult with local authorities on the development of targets for new homes.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
We consulted on changes to the standard method formula for assessing local housing need and have now considered the responses carefully. On Wednesday 16th December we announced that in order to ensure that the country meets the challenge of delivering 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s, we changed the formula to focus greater need into urban areas to maximise existing infrastructure and to support development that reduces the need for high-carbon travel.
We believe the new method achieves the balance between these objectives whilst also providing certainty and stability during a period of economic uncertainty for our communities, businesses, and development sector. The figures we published alongside the new formula are only indicative, and local housing need remains the starting point for planning for housing need. Authorities should consider how this is best met based on their local circumstance, based on land availability, and relevant constraints.
We continue to engage with those authorities who are facing challenges. The Spending Review confirmed initial funding of £7.1 billion for the National House Building Fund (NHBF) over the next four years to unlock up to 860,000 homes.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that any reforms to the planning system protect the environment.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Our proposals in Planning for the Future seek to improve environmental outcomes. This will be achieved by amending the National Planning Policy Framework to ensure that it targets those areas where a reformed planning system can most effectively play a role in mitigating and adapting to climate change and maximising environmental benefits, while protecting and enhancing the most valuable and important habitats and species in England. The Government will respond to this consultation in due course. The Environment Bill will make 10 per cent net gains for biodiversity mandatory for most new developments, and also introduce Local Nature Recovery Strategies to secure enhancements through development schemes and contributions. We have also committed to review the environmental assessment process to help promote a clean, green recovery from the effects of coronavirus, and are taking this forward as part of the Planning for the Future reforms. Environmental protection will be at the heart of this review and where possible, any new framework will go further to take advantage of opportunities for environmental improvement.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the possible impact the changes proposed in the Planning White Paper will have on the delivery of affordable housing.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The?proposal?to create a new Infrastructure Levy,?as set out in the?Planning for the Future?White Paper,?will?support?a more streamlined and accessible planning system. The new Levy will be designed to deliver at least as much onsite affordable housing as at present and will continue to be collected and spent at the local level, on priorities including infrastructure and affordable housing.
The consultation on the White Paper closed on 29 October. We are currently analysing the consultation responses and will publish a response in the Spring which will set out our decisions on the proposed way forward.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether objections by local objectors are given greater importance than objections by non-local objectors in planning decisions taken by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
All material planning considerations are taken into account in planning decisions. These are set out in the published decision letter and accompanying Inspector's report for each case, along with full reasons for the Secretary of State's decision.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government refused planning permission for the proposed changes to the Anglia Square shopping centre in Norwich.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The reasons for the Secretary of State's decision are set out in full in his decision letter of 12 November, which is available to view online at (attached) the following address:
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many completion notices have been confirmed by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government in the last ten years for which figures are available; and what plans they have, if any, (1) to review, (2) to revoke, or (3) to revise, this power.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Since September 2010, 18 completion notices have been confirmed by Secretaries of State at the Department. The Housing White Paper in 2017 proposed reform of completion notices to support the faster build out of development, including removing the requirement for Secretary of State consent which required primary legislation. We are now considering whether to take forward this commitment as part of the implementation of the Planning for the Future White Paper which reconfirmed the importance of planning permissions being built out quickly.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of their proposed First Homes policy on the provision of social and affordable rented homes.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government recognises the important role of affordable housing and supplying new homes of all affordable tenures. Affordable homes will help support people into home ownership; reduce the impact of high rents in the private rented sector where people struggle to afford it; and mitigate the risk of homelessness.
The Government is mindful of the trade-off between the level of ambition for First Homes, funded through developer contributions, and the supply of other affordable housing tenures. There are many factors that will affect this trade off beyond the level of First Homes delivery through section 106, especially any price/income caps or additional discounts in high value areas to increase affordability. We therefore do not consider it appropriate to make predictions until these factors are better understood through our response to the consultation, which we hope to publish soon.
The proportions of section 106 described in the consultation are illustrative examples and should not be taken as Government intentions at this stage. The lowest proportion at 40% was chosen as it is roughly equal to the current proportion of section 106 which delivers home ownership products (37% in 2018-2019).
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many homes resulting from permitted development rights meet their nationally described space standard.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Permitted development rights for change of use to residential are making an important contribution to housing delivery, largely providing windfall housing that may otherwise not have been delivered through the planning system. The rights make effective use of existing buildings and help boost housing density, as part of our broader housing ambitions, without the need to build on greenfield sites.
In response to concerns raised in respect of the quality of some of the homes delivered through permitted development rights we now require adequate natural light to be provided in habitable rooms. The independent research informing our review has been published and is available at the following (attached) link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/quality-standard-of-homes-delivered-through-change-of-use-permitted-development-rights