New legislation aims to drive building boom

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill was introduced to Parliament last week. The legislation is being heralded as bringing transformative reforms to the UK building sector that will boost homebuilding and remove obstacles to needed infrastructure.

Here is an outline of some of the measures introduced by the legislation.

Planning committees

A national scheme of delegation will specify which types of applications are to be determined by officers and which by planning committees. There will be limits on the size of planning committees and planning committee members will have mandatory training.

Councils will also be able to set their own planning fees.

Nature Restoration Fund

A Nature Restoration Fund will be established so that payments made into the fund allow building to proceed. Contributions will be pooled so that larger environmental interventions can be funded.

Compulsory purchase reform

The compulsory purchase process for buying land for public interest projects will be adjusted. The reforms will mean compensation paid to landowners is not excessive and the process by which ‘hope value’ is removed when it’s justified in the public interest will be sped up.

While these adjustments aim to speed up the development of public interest projects, landowners may not see these changes as an improvement.

Development Corporations

Development Corporations have been used in the past where the risk or scale of a development is too large for the private sector, for example in building post-war new towns.

The legislation will strengthen Development Corporations so that it will be easier for them to deliver large-scale developments, such as new towns that include affordable housing, GP surgeries, schools and public transport alongside new homes.

Strategic planning

Across England there will be a system of ‘strategic planning’ known as spatial development strategies. This will make it possible to consider needs across several local planning authorities and determine where the most sustainable building areas are, making sure that the requirements for development and infrastructure are joined up.

National Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP)

Consultation requirements for national projects like windfarms, railway lines or roads are to be streamlined under the new legislation. Infrastructure applications are assessed against national policies, so these policies will now be updated at least every five years.

The Highways Act and the Transport and Works Act are also to be updated so that bureaucracy on transport projects is reduced.

Challenges to government decisions on major infrastructure projects will also be limited. Meritless cases will have one rather than three attempts at legal challenge under the new legislation.

Clean energy

The legislation will help approved clean energy projects be prioritised for grid connections.

Bill discounts

The government are anticipating that around twice as much new transmission network infrastructure – overhead cables, pylons, substations etc – will need to be built by 2030 as was built in the past decade.

As an incentive to accept these changes, those living within 500m of new pylons will be given money off their electricity bills for 10 years.

Developers will also be given new guidance on providing benefits such as sports clubs, educational programmes or leisure facilities to communities that host transmission infrastructure.

Reaction

Unsurprisingly the legislation was greeted by positive comments from government and large homebuilder representatives. However, Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the Federation of Master Builders, chimed in with a comment for smaller builders.

He noted that only around 10% of new homes are being built by SMEs today, compared with 40% in the 1980s. He cited the planning system as the number one issue holding back the delivery of new homes, with availability and viability of land also contributing. He said: “Supporting small builders through the planning system and reducing unnecessary bureaucracy will be key to opening up small sites, and today’s announcement will be welcomed by many across the industry.”

Legislation takes time to clear parliamentary process, but we look forward to seeing a good effect from the reforms for our construction industry clients.

See: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/biggest-building-boom-in-a-generation-through-planning-reforms