Wates Group’s Post

🏢 Blog: Game-changing updates announced for National Planning Policy Framework The UK Government has unveiled significant reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), aiming to tackle housing challenges and promote sustainable development. Key Takeaways: ✅ Housing Targets: Local councils must deliver 370,000 new homes annually. ✅ Environmental Focus: Greater emphasis on energy efficiency and low-carbon solutions. ✅ Economic Growth Sectors: Support for laboratories, logistics, and more. ✅ 'Grey Belt' Development: Opportunities for new housing while balancing sustainability. These changes are bold, ambitious, and come with opportunities and challenges for local councils, developers, and communities. 📖 Read our full article to understand the implications and opportunities of the NPPF changes. https://lnkd.in/erkxRDVj #NPPF #SustainableDevelopment #UrbanPlanning #EnergyEfficiency

Please feel free to get in touch with the #planning & #development teams at Vail Williams to discuss the new #nppf & what it means for your development opportunities across all sectors

Click for a summary of the new NPPF. We at Vail Williams are here to help guide your development aspirations through the planning system! #nppf #planning #development #build

Is Labour 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 are core WeberHaus principles. Our primary building material, wood, used in our highly energy-efficient building envelope ÖvoNatur Therm, not only reduces harmful emissions but also provides natural insulation for a comfortable indoor climate. In addition, by incorporating PV, heat pumps and MVHRs in many of our homes, WeberHaus exceeds current sustainability regulations. How the Government implement the Manifesto is key to supporting UK individuals to design and build their own homes. #sustainability #naturalinsulation #timberframe #ÖvoNatur #buildingrevolutionuk #energyefficiency #planningreform

As we enjoy the last days of the summer, we look back at one of the most dramatic events that took place - the election of the new Government. With a new government comes the promise of change. The Labour Government has shared ambitious plans for the built environment sector, and we are excited to see how these will affect the sector in the future. In our latest blog, we hear from industry experts; Oliver Deed from ECF, Natascha McIntyre Hall from Gleeds, Charlotte Dove Bowen from Commonplace, and Tim Ashwin from Tim Ashwin Consulting Limited on their hopes and expectations for the new government. Read our blog to hear their insights 📝 (link in comments) 💭 What are your thoughts? Are you feeling optimistic about the new government and its ambitions for the future of the built environment? #builtenvironment #blog #labour #sustainability #housing

The team presented various pertinent Planning issues affecting the South East this morning, one of which is a reminder that only six local authorities in the South East have a local plan adopted in the past five years. Plenty of progress required, and we expect a number of consultations later this year into next. National policy is shortly to change following the new Chancellor's announcements yesterday (more here: https://lnkd.in/ebp9mzMR). May a return of mandatory housing targets; investment prioritisation for new infrastructure; bold approach to the Green Belt; and seeking new solutions to city-regions significantly improve matters? One matter now seems more certain - additional weight is to be provided to national economic considerations. Could this result in the required c.30,000 dwellings per annum in the South East...? It needs to, as we presently stand at 62% of this.... Thanks to our clients for attending today. More updates to come from our team. Andrew Watson Guy Dixon Robert Steele Samantha Gibbs Katherine Munro

🚨 Big Changes Ahead for UK Planning Policy 🚨 I’ve just finished reviewing the proposed changes to the NPPF by the new Labour government, and there’s a lot of buzz around the concept of the “grey belt”—and for good reason! 🧐 ✅ What exactly is it? ✅ How do we identify it? ✅ Will the affordable housing targets in grey belt areas even be viable? These are critical questions that deserve attention. 💡 But what isn’t being discussed enough is the proposal to scrap paragraph 130 altogether—and I think this could be massive, particularly for small and medium-sized developments. 📋 So many planning applications are often refused on the grounds that the proposed development is “out of character,” “not in keeping,” or “inconsistent with the area’s development grain,” even when proposed in sustainable, built-up areas. If we are to solve the UK housing crisis, increasing density in sustainable areas is key to maximising efficient land use and building homes where they’re needed most. 🏘️🏗️ 👋 I personally welcome this policy change and believe it shouldn’t be overlooked. What does everyone think? #housingcrisis #NPPF #planningpolicy #sustainabledevelopment #housingdensity #futureofhousing

𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨, 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐫 '𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐥.' 🏗️ Development planning has never been, and never will be, easy or simple. Watching the different parties propose and debate improvements to the town planning system if elected sometimes feels far from the reality of the day-to-day coal face of project delivery. The Labour manifesto recognises that the current planning system '𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒋𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉.' As such, the party pledges to reform the system to meet the needs of a modern economy, supporting growth, investment, and innovation. 📈 The manifesto states: '𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉, 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔. 𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒂 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔.' 𝐊𝐞𝐲 “𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠” 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬: 🏠 Delivery of 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament  📝 Immediate updates to the National Planning Policy Framework, including restoring mandatory housing targets  📅 Tougher action against Local Planning Authorities to ensure up-to-date Local Plans  💼 Support for local authorities by funding an additional 300 planning officers (through a 1% increase in stamp duty on all homes bought by non-UK residents)  🌆 Building a new generation of new towns and reforming compulsory purchase compensation rules  🏞️ A more strategic approach to greenbelt land designation and release, including prioritising the release of lower quality 'grey belt' land  🌍 An effective new mechanism for cross-boundary strategic planning, recognising that housing need in England cannot be met without planning for growth on a larger scale Across our industry, there is no doubt that an overhaul of our planning system is required to speed up decision-making and increase certainty for developers. The changes proposed by Labour present a positive step forward, but it remains to be seen how they will actually be implemented in practice. 🤔 We will provide an update as soon as greater clarity on changes and implications to the planning system become clearer. Additionally, we are planning a breakfast briefing event in the autumn to provide detailed guidance and insight on future planning. 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞: https://lnkd.in/epPuKSFB #PlanningAndDesign #UrbanPlanning #LabourManifesto #PlanningReform #HousingPolicy #UKPlanning #GreenbeltStrategy #NationalRenewal

Any guesses what’s dominated this week’s headlines in Construction-land? The weather, you say? Kind of, but there’s no escaping the excitement of the Election. With leader’s debates, gaffes, polls and, finally, manifestos, there’s been plenty for the industry to get its teeth into. Mirroring the mood of the nation-at-large, as reflected in consistent polling numbers, there appears to be some excitement about Labour’s ‘Change’ manifesto, and some indifference at the Conservatives’ offer. I’m being polite, the quotes in Housing Today’s round up of feedback to the Conservative policy is ‘unbalanced’ and ‘frustrating’. There’s a warmer reception for Labour’s launch, but there’s also likely to be increasing scrutiny as the party appears to be shaping up for Government - let’s see what, if anything, changes in the coming weeks. One thing that will have the likes of Make UK excited is Labour’s promise of a national industrial policy, while the 10-year infrastructure strategy and promise of planning reform seem to answer a lot of what various other trade bodies have been asking for. In other news this week, the latest ONS figures show a further contraction in the sector in Q1, down another 0.9%, with wet weather the chief culprit. There are a couple of areas up, but new work, particularly in housing, are dragging the rest down. Looking into the future, an interesting Arcadis report suggests that the introduction and implications of the Building Safety Act could compound the effects of the sector’s skills shortage to hamper the sector’s recovery prospects in the coming years. Something the next Government seeks to address, whatever colour rosette they wear. Anyway, on with the links… 'Sector welcomes Labour’s plans for housing targets and planning reform' (Housing Today) https://lnkd.in/eesWMjrH? 'Sector reacts to Conservative Party’s ‘unbalanced’ and ‘frustrating’ manifesto' (Housing Today) https://lnkd.in/eC2gaGne? 'Labour manifesto promises infrastructure and planning overhaul' (via Construction News) https://lnkd.in/e-qk4y8Y? 'Building Safety changes slow down construction recovery' (via Construction Enquirer) https://lnkd.in/eiiUgETy 'Wet weather blamed again as ONS records another fall in construction output' (via Building Magazine) https://lnkd.in/ehtA2EBx? #ConstructionRoundUp #ConstructionNews

The UK government has unveiled bold new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) reforms, signifying the Labour government’s commitment to revitalizing the planning system for economic growth. Urban planners, developers, and policymakers need to stay informed as to how these changes could reshape the landscape for future projects. Our UK Planning team, partner Hannah Quarterman, senior associates David Wood and Robert Gowing, and associate Rosie Shields, provide a comprehensive analysis of the proposed changes in the three sectors: commercial, residential, and infrastructure. Explore the commercial development opportunities: https://lnkd.in/eXteC_J9 Learn more about the UK Housing Policy shake-up: https://lnkd.in/e_69A5Qm Dive deeper into the implications and strategies for the infrastructure sector: https://lnkd.in/e79Gxsuc #InfrastructureDevelopment #HousingShortage #EconomicGrowth #DigitalInfrastructure #RenewableInfrastructure