Planning regime may delay Government plans for 100,000 homes on public land
Press release: 8 June 2011
Comment from Greg Mitchell, Head of Residential Development at planning and urban design consultancy Turley Associates.
The Government is to announce that it intends to sell off many thousands of acres of public land to allow 100,000 new homes to be built by 2015. Such a move will be welcomed by developers and those looking to purchase a home, but the planning regime in England may well slow down delivery of any new homes, warns planning and urban design consultancy Turley Associates.
Government departments are being asked to identify surplus land around hospitals, schools, military bases and highways by the autumn of this year. Land will be sold at the market rate and is expected to raise up to £10bn. It is hoped that the first homes will be built within two to three years.
Greg Mitchell, Head of Residential Development at Turley Associates said: "Land supply is a real issue for developers and this move will be welcomed. However, the Government is rather ambitious in hoping that 100,000 new homes will be built by 2015.
"Whilst it is suggested that some sites will be sold with planning permissions attached, no doubt at a premium, developers will in the majority of cases need to apply for the relevant planning permissions, and on straightforward sites this can take up to 18 months.
"Many of the sites however will be in sensitive locations, close to military bases or on green belt sites for example, and this will undoubtedly slow the planning process down further. It is unrealistic to expect the current planning regime to approve 100,000 new homes within the 2015 timeframe."
Greg adds: "The Government has promised to streamline the planning system to promote growth and this is welcomed, although no detail has yet to be announced. A major shake-up of the planning regime is already underway through the Government's Localism Agenda and how this will sit with a regime streamlined for growth will be crucial. There is real potential for conflict."
Greg concludes: "The approach being suggested by the Government selling land at the full market value is also interesting. Developers are being asked to shoulder all risks, and they will want assurances that planning permissions will follow rapidly."
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About Turley Associates
Turley Associates is the UK's leading independent planning and urban design consultancy. The company operates from 10 offices - London, Southampton, Bristol, Cardiff, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Belfast - and has market leading expertise in planning, urban design, masterplanning, sustainability and heritage. The company has a strong reputation in the residential, retail, infrastructure, energy, health, education, sports and leisure, waste, minerals and mining and financial sectors.