Nicholas Garside’s Post

PEER REVIEW: The UK House of Lords has called for comments about how ‘grey belt’ land may be best identified and used to hit government housing targets. Its Built Environment Committee has begun an inquiry into the government’s proposals following the announcement in July of revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Comments can be lodged online in response to a series of questions. Please contact us to find out more about how this may affect your plans, site or project. #planning #NPPF #greybelt #greenbelt #development #housing #newhomes

🌳 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁'𝘀 "𝗚𝗿𝗲𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝘁" 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀 🏡 The House of Lords committee has initiated an inquiry into the government's controversial "Grey Belt" plans, which could reshape how land between urban areas and the countryside is utilized for housing development. This inquiry will examine the potential impact on communities, infrastructure, and the environment. As the construction industry watches closely, the outcome could significantly influence future planning and development strategies. It's crucial that we balance the need for housing with sustainable land use and environmental protection. Stay tuned as we follow this important discussion. The future of our urban-rural landscapes may be at a turning point. #GreyBelt #HousingDevelopment #UrbanPlanning #Sustainability #ConstructionNews Read more: https://lnkd.in/dD8xfwMZ 

🌳 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁'𝘀 "𝗚𝗿𝗲𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝘁" 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀 🏡 The House of Lords committee has initiated an inquiry into the government's controversial "Grey Belt" plans, which could reshape how land between urban areas and the countryside is utilized for housing development. This inquiry will examine the potential impact on communities, infrastructure, and the environment. As the construction industry watches closely, the outcome could significantly influence future planning and development strategies. It's crucial that we balance the need for housing with sustainable land use and environmental protection. Stay tuned as we follow this important discussion. The future of our urban-rural landscapes may be at a turning point. #GreyBelt #HousingDevelopment #UrbanPlanning #Sustainability #ConstructionNews Read more: https://lnkd.in/dUbdSRS6 

🌳 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁'𝘀 "𝗚𝗿𝗲𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝘁" 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀 🏡 The House of Lords committee has initiated an inquiry into the government's controversial "Grey Belt" plans, which could reshape how land between urban areas and the countryside is utilized for housing development. This inquiry will examine the potential impact on communities, infrastructure, and the environment. As the construction industry watches closely, the outcome could significantly influence future planning and development strategies. It's crucial that we balance the need for housing with sustainable land use and environmental protection. Stay tuned as we follow this important discussion. The future of our urban-rural landscapes may be at a turning point. #GreyBelt #HousingDevelopment #UrbanPlanning #Sustainability #ConstructionNews Read more: https://lnkd.in/dUifHdik 

🌳 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁'𝘀 "𝗚𝗿𝗲𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝘁" 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀 🏡 The House of Lords committee has initiated an inquiry into the government's controversial "Grey Belt" plans, which could reshape how land between urban areas and the countryside is utilized for housing development. This inquiry will examine the potential impact on communities, infrastructure, and the environment. As the construction industry watches closely, the outcome could significantly influence future planning and development strategies. It's crucial that we balance the need for housing with sustainable land use and environmental protection. Stay tuned as we follow this important discussion. The future of our urban-rural landscapes may be at a turning point. #GreyBelt #HousingDevelopment #UrbanPlanning #Sustainability #ConstructionNews Read more: https://lnkd.in/dUifHdik 

Is #Labourparty serious about planning reform? Rachel Reeves has set out the Government's first steps to "fixing the foundations" of Britain's economy.  As a key part of this, the new chancellor has announced a series of planning reforms. A promising start, but what does this mean for the self-build community? Such a strong signal of the Government's commitment to planning reform is welcome, as England's planning system has long held back self-builders. Reeves is proposing streamlining the process and development of brownfield land, protecting green spaces and reducing urban sprawl. A key aspect of Reeves' planning reform is environmental sustainability. Labour's vision to ensure that new developments are energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Clearly timber framed houses materials are sustainable and Baufritz constructs very energy efficient homes.   #ukgov #selfbuild #architecture #planning #climate

The Government plans new powers for council Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPO) aimed at pushing the drive for housing. They plan to introduce legislation to grant councils greater authority to issue CPO’s for land, including green belt and grey belt areas, ensuring landowners receive a "fair but not excessive return”.  The CPO powers will no doubt develop the concept of “no hope values”. The last Government presented this concept aimed at affordable housing, education and healthcare; it now looks to be extended in part to housing. A section of current planning reform consultation addresses ‘Benchmark Land Values’ and how these may be set. BLV’s are not a new concept and are used when a developer is negotiating viability with a local authority. It includes a balance against costs the developer is asked to provide including infrastructure, affordable housing and biodiversity, some of which may be achieved through financial payment. The consultation asks for views on BLVs being set at multipliers of 3-40 times existing use values, but will developer profit be similarly benchmarked? Under the new rules, developments on green belt land would require some set goals including 50% affordable housing, with a focus on brownfield and grey-belt sites. There is already discussion around landowners deliberately “greying up” green belt land. Then there is the question of whether the green belt needs reviewing. There may be areas of the green belt already more suitable for housing than brown or grey belt areas where local infrastructure is more readily available. The mission to transform planning and building control is very much part of this. The question remains whether the conflicting demands of environmental protection will free anything up. The consultation is posted on GOV.UK ‘Proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system’. Tuesday 24 September 2024 is the deadline for comment. #Compulsorypurchaseordersforresidential #NationalPlanningPolicyReform #Haveyoursay #24THSeptember2024

OAA PRACTICE ADVISORY: CSA’s Report on “Seizing the Modular Construction Opportunity” Confronted with a housing crisis, policymakers are challenged to facilitate building new infrastructure—and quickly—to catch up to rising demand as the population grows and the skilled labour force shrinks. Innovative construction methods need to be explored to address these mounting issues. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gQsfWn-x

The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves has announced that the Labour Party plan to overhaul the planning process. One of the areas that they are looking closely at, are parcels of land that could be described as part of the “grey belt”. As this is a term that may be new to many we thought we’d try and explain it.   The term "grey belt" in the context of house building in the UK refers to land that is neither classified as green belt (protected open space) nor fully developed urban land. Grey belt areas are typically on the urban fringe and may include previously developed but currently unused land, underutilized spaces, or brownfield sites that have some level of existing infrastructure.   Key characteristics of grey belt land:   1. Location: Situated between the green belt and fully developed urban areas. 2. Potential for Development: Often seen as having potential for development to help meet housing needs without encroaching on protected green belt land. 3. Planning Policies: These areas might be subject to specific planning policies aimed at encouraging sustainable development while balancing environmental and social considerations.   The concept of the grey belt is increasingly being discussed as a way to address the housing crisis in the UK by providing a compromise between protecting green spaces and meeting the demand for new housing. Developing grey belt land can help to alleviate pressure on green belt areas while making use of land that is not currently serving its best purpose. This is the area where future developments a likely to be more viable. An investment in a grey belt area would certainly combine the aspiration to do our best to save our land (by not using green belt land) with an investment that has great potential.   Saloria Architects and our partners and consultants are here to help our client evaluate and find the right land, development or investment opportunity to achieve their expectations. #greybelt #planningpolicy #SaloriaArchitects #ArchitecturalDesign 

Julian Sharpe MRTPI, our Head of Planning, with an update on the new version of the National Planning Policy Framework with some clarification on what might be considered 'grey belt'.