Planning for Housing The private sector perspective John Acres Director of Planning (Sustainable Development)

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Planning for HousingThe private
sectorperspectiveJohn Acres Director of
Planning (Sustainable Development)
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Who are the Catesby Property Group?

• Catesby has property interests throughout the
  country - commercial, mixed use and residential
• Catesby assembles, promotes and develops land and
  secures planning consent for sale of land to
  house-builders and developers
• Catesby is promoting land for 3200 dwellings and
  50ha employment land at Newark.

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Newark Future
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What am I going to cover?

• Planning for Housing
• The story so far
• Where are we now
• Where are we going
• What is the outlook for
• planning,
• the economy
• society

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The story so far..

• Carol Spelmans letter Aug 2009 collusion?
• Open Source planning Feb 2010 concoction
• An arranged marriage May 2010 - coalition
• The Pickles letter 27th May 2010 confusion
• Revocation of RSSs July 2010 - conspiracy!
• The Cala decision Nov 2010 - condemnation
• The Localism Bill Dec 2010 - conclusion

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House of Commons Select CommitteeAbolition of
RSSs A planning vacuum

• Having taken 30 years to build up the strategic
  planning
• system and perhaps 3 years to prepare each
  Regional
• Plan, it has taken literally 3 months to abandon
  the whole
• process and create a situation of complete
  paralysis in the
• planning system.
• Para 3 Introduction.

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Key indicators of change.What have been the
trends?
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House prices
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Regional House price trend(East Midlands
compared with England)
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Housing starts completions(England, 12 month
rolling total).
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Regional Housing starts(12 month rolling totals).
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Regional Housing starts(12 month rolling totals).
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Mortgage releases
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Share prices(Comparison between major
house-builders and FTSE share index)
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Core strategies - progress

• The numbers game!
• Number of adopted Core Strategies
• In England In East Midlands

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Where are we now?

• Strategic planning the baby has been thrown out
  with the bathwater!
• Planning in limbo Localism Bill
• The implications of Cala 1 2 ( 3)
• Kneejerk decisions
• Less support, changes in structures
• Coping with cuts losses of jobs
• The market in the doldrums
• Confusion delay

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Key pointers for change

• The Budget statement. The planning system has
  held back investment and created distortions in
  the way that business compete, deterring
  development and growth.
• Eric Pickles LPAs and other bodies involved in
  granting development consents should prioritise
  growth and jobs with immediate effect.
• Greg Clarke The answer to development and
  growth should wherever possible be yes.
• Steve Quartermain This statement is a material
  planning consideration

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Localism Bill

• Whats in?
• Abolition of regional Planning
• Abolish IPC SOS decision
• Duty to Co-operate
• Neighbourhood Planning
• Local Referenda
• Community Right to Build
• Community Right to Challenge
• Removal of Pre-determination rule/tightening
  penalties

• Whats out?
• National Spatial Plan
• Presumption in favour of Devt.
• Housing targets
• Any change to primacy of Local Plans
• Third Party rights of Appeal
• Neighbour compensation
• Local Enterprise Partnerships
• (non statutory)

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Where are we going?

• The longer term outlook.

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Impact on Planning(Will things be more or less
plan led?)

• Less certainty more flexibility
• Less co-ordination more variation
• Less needs based more opportunity based
• Less influence from planners more influence
  from politicians/local people
• Less professionalism more parochialism
• Less staff more work to do!!

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Impact on the Economy(Is the Bill pro-growth or
not?)

• Less certainty more reluctance to invest
• Less public investment more pressure on private
  sector
• Less bureaucracy potentially less costs and
  more freedom
• Losing a layer in the hierarchy quicker
  decisions
• Localism may more uncertainty, but may closer
  private/public sector relationships.

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Impact on Society(Will it help foster the Big
Society?)

• Will it promote more genuine community
  involvement?
• If so, will it create more tensions in planning?
• Who will undertake pay for neighbourhood
  planning?
• Will it work in the urban areas?
• Will it promote survival of the fittest approach?
• Who will be the winners/losers?
• Does Big Society mean lots of little
  societies?

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