Peacock + Smith

LEEDS LOCAL PLAN UPDATE Leeds City Council have announced a revised approach in relation to their Local Plan preparation. A lengthy report is going to Development Plan Panel on Tuesday 18th March, we summarise the key points as follows:   📚 The current Leeds Local Plan comprises five DPDs, these will now be consolidated into a single document that will cover the period to 2042.   🌍 The Local Plan Update with ambitious Climate Change targets and aspirations will be withdrawn.   🏡 The Council will need to allocate land for 19,000 new homes, taking into account existing commitments.   🟩 Green Belt release will likely be required. New settlements have been considered but this is not the Council’s preferred approach.   🚲The Council favour growth in areas where people can “walk or wheel” to essential services.   🏢 650,000sqm additional office floorspace is required, with a particular need for Grade A space. The Council will consider land available in the City Centre and at public transport hubs (Kirkstall Forge, White Rose, Thorp Park).   🏭 2.25 million sqm additional industrial and logistics floorspace is required. The Council is aware of the need to respond to key growth sectors and the specific locational requirements businesses may have.   Consultation on various options associated with the above is expected to take place in June 2025.   If you have any land interests in the Leeds area, please contact the P+S Leeds office. https://lnkd.in/eQU3ksxr

P+S are interested to read of further proposed reforms to the planning system announced today. The Government has announced a review of the statutory consultee system to “𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨”.   A consultation will launch “𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘚𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨” on limiting the scope of statutory consultees and removing a number of them, including Sport England, Theatres Trust and The Gardens Trust.   Statutory consultees which remain will have their scope reviewed, with the aim of reducing the type and number of applications on which they must be consulted so the most relevant applications to specific specialisms can be focussed on.   P+S will continue to monitor any potential changes. Full details are available at the following link: https://lnkd.in/extbMeP4

It's been great for some of the P+S Leeds office to spend time in Bradford today for the visit of RTPI President, Helen Fadipe, and to see 'behind the scenes' of several development projects including Bradford Live, Darley Street Market and One City Square. Always good to see positive change happening in the city, and the weather today certainly helped too!   CHRIS CREIGHTON | Sarah Smedley | Ben Brown | Royal Town Planning Institute

P+S are pleased to have assisted Westchurch Homes on the site of the former Tuscan Pottery Works in Stoke-on-Trent.   On behalf of Westchurch Homes, P+S undertook a site search in the area, and identified this site as having potential for residential development. Since then, P+S have provided planning advice and assistance on the scheme, including at pre-application advice stage and in preparing the planning application that has now been submitted for 117 affordable homes. This site has been closed and cleared for over 15 years. It’s great to see proposals for this brownfield site being taken forward. We look forward to working with the Council to secure an approval.   For more details please contact Steve Buckley in the P+S Manchester office.

MHCLG have today updated two headings of Planning Practice Guidance: 'Green Belt' and 'Effective Use of Land'. These changes follow publication of the revised NPPF in December 2024.   Notably, further guidance has been published on the matter of ‘grey belt’ land, including detail on key topics such as “Making an assessment of whether land is grey belt” and “In what circumstances should proposals on grey belt land be approved?”. Diagrams have also been used in an attempt to simplify the expected approach. In relation to 'effective use of land', additional guidance has been added in relation to NPPF Para 125(c), relating to substantial weight being afforded to brownfield land proposals.   P+S are reviewing today’s updates to fully understand the latest position.   The full 'Green Belt' guidance can be found at the following link: https://lnkd.in/g-6_x52, with 'Effective Use of Land' guidance here: https://lnkd.in/eYRtJWG3 #planning #greenbelt #greybelt

The City of York Local Plan has moved a step closer to adoption. Following examination, the Plan has been found ‘sound’ by Inspectors, subject to a number of modifications.   The Council will consider adopting the Plan on the 27th February at a meeting of Full Council. If adopted, it will be the first Local Plan in place since 1956! If you have any land or development interests in York, please get in touch with the P+S Leeds office who are well placed to advise on potential opportunities. #york #planning #localplan

Peacock + Smith are delighted to have worked with Harrogate Sports and Fitness Club to obtain planning permission for 2x additional covered padel courts as well as a new parking area for the adjacent Yorkshire Showground. The development will help the Club to meet the growing demand for padel and support its mission to improve the health and fitness of Harrogate! Please contact CHRIS CREIGHTON if your sports club has any expansion plans that will need planning permission. HALLIDAY CLARK ARCHITECTS - Smeeden Foreman - SRH Design Solutions - SLR Consulting

As part of their on-going Call for Sites process, North Yorkshire Council have published details of sites submitted for consideration so far.   The Council have yet to assess any sites, but the published map provides an initial guide as to where available land is located, available at the following link: https://lnkd.in/e9u_vgds   North Yorkshire’s Call for Sites process remains open for further submissions, with a current deadline of July 2025.   Please get in touch with the P+S Leeds office if you have any land interests in the area.

Leeds City Council are considering recent planning reforms at their Development Plan Panel next week.   The accompanying paper confirms that the housing requirement for Leeds in the latest version of the NPPF is 3,811 homes per year, an uplift from the Core Strategy requirement of 3,247 homes per year. Using the new figure, the Council considers it can demonstrate a 6.6-year supply of housing land.   The paper goes on to consider changes to Green Belt policy, including the introduction of ‘grey belt’. It notes that the Government intends to release further guidance on undertaking Green Belt assessments and identifying grey belt. The Council has made a bid for additional funding to develop its evidence base on this issue.   It highlights that the NPPF does not only stress the need for more homes, it also sets a framework for economic growth. The Council notes the drive for economic growth can only partially be supported by its current planning policies as there is a limited supply of employment land – partly due to continued safeguarding of employment land for rail projects and partly because the Local Plan is in the final stages of its plan period. This can be remedied through the allocation of additional land in updates to the Local Plan.   No further consultation dates have yet been set in relation to the Council’s Local Plan preparation but P+S are monitoring for updates. #leeds #planningpolicy #development

We are pleased to welcome Ben Brown to the Peacock + Smith Leeds team!   Ben joins us as a Senior Planner, having gained several years’ experience working in the Leeds office of Barton Willmore/Stantec.   Ben has experience in taking a variety of proposals through pre-application, public consultation, and submission stages and is already proving to be a great addition to the team, providing essential input across multiple projects.