Yvette Carr’s Post

Major planning changes coming into effect to deliver the homes NSW needs The NSW Government’s Transport Orientated Development planning reforms estimated to deliver over 170,000 more well-located, well-designed and well-built homes throughout the Sydney, the Illawarra, Hunter and Central Coast begin this month. In December last year the government announced the Transport Oriented Development State Environmental Planning Policy (TOD SEPP) which identified 31 stations across 13 local government areas around which new housing is to be located within 400m. Working with the Department of Planning Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI), 12 of the 13 local government areas have engaged with the DPHI to develop housing plans that deliver greater or equal housing numbers than would be required by the original TOD SEPP. During discussions it has also become clear that several councils not only welcomed the opportunity to develop housing plans for existing TOD sites, but wanted more TOD https://lnkd.in/g5P4YZBg

Exciting news for urban development in New South Wales! A new Transport Oriented Development (TOD) State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) is set to transform areas within 400m of 37 key metro and rail stations. The policy aims to facilitate the construction of new, affordable housing options within easy reach of public transportation. Key highlights of the changes include: Permission for residential flat buildings in various residential zones (R1-R4) within the vicinity of identified stations. Authorization for residential flat buildings and shop top housing in local and commercial centers (E1 and E2) within 400m of specified stations. Projections indicate the potential for an additional 175,000 new homes to be built over the next 15 years, significantly addressing housing demand. Furthermore, the government is introducing a mandatory 2% affordable housing contribution on new developments within these areas, with gradual increases planned to ensure accessibility for essential workers such as healthcare professionals, educators, and hospitality staff. Additionally, the NSW Government is granting certain councils the authority to conduct local planning in select TOD SEPP locations instead of immediate SEPP implementation starting April 2024. However, these councils must meet or exceed the SEPP's housing targets. Failure to do so will result in the SEPP's automatic enforcement. Check out the link below for the provided timetable for station-specific timelines. Stay tuned for further updates on this transformative initiative! https://lnkd.in/gtZ3WiYi #UrbanDevelopment #AffordableHousing #TransportOrientedDevelopment #NSWGovernment #development #Housing #Planning #NSWproperty #TOD #Infrastructure

An Inspector has upheld Chelmsford City Council’s refusal of planning permission for a proposed ‘integrated retirement community’ in the former grounds of Little Waltham Lodge, a Grade II listed building located outside Chelmsford.   While recognising the need for private extra care accommodation in the area, the Inspector concluded that the development would cause harm to several important considerations. These included the local character and appearance—specifically through the coalescence of Little Waltham and Broomfield to the south—the loss of protected trees, and the impact on nearby heritage assets. Crucially, the proposals were found to significantly erode the contribution of the site to the historic significance of Little Waltham Lodge, despite evidence from the Appellant to the contrary.   Of particular note was the Inspector’s approach to the local plan, adopted in 2020. Despite arguments that the absence of specific targets for extra care accommodation rendered certain policies out of date, the Inspector upheld their relevance, finding that the ‘most important policies’ were not 'out of date' and the tilted balance did not apply. This demonstrates a clear and methodical application of the ‘Wavendon basket’ approach.   This decision reinforces the importance of protecting local character, and heritage, even in the face of growing need for specialist accommodation as our population ages. Josef Cannon KC acted for Chelmsford City Council in this case, working with Alison Hutchinson on planning evidence, Michael Hurst on heritage expertise, and Peter Dawson on insights into character and appearance.    For more details, the Inspector’s decision letter can be accessed here: https://lnkd.in/ewwb5nwq Learn more about Josef’s practice here: https://lnkd.in/eEJjqGpA #PlanningPermission #UrbanDevelopment #HeritageConservation #LocalPlanning #Chelmsford #HeritageAssets #LocalCharacter #UrbanPlanning #PlanningLaw #DevelopmentRefusal #BuiltEnvironment #PlanningInspectorate #SustainableDevelopment

★ UPDATED NPPF   It is pleasing to see that the government has published the revised National Planning Policy Framework which sets out government's planning policies for England and how these are expected to be applied.   Under the new Framework:  ★ Councils will have new immediate mandatory housing targets with the aim to increase housebuilding and deliver growth across the country. ★ Areas with the highest unaffordability for housing and greatest potential for growth will see housebuilding targets increase, while action will aim to ensure councils adopt up-to-date local plans or develop new plans that work for their communities.  ★ While remaining committed to a brownfield first approach, the updated NPPF requires councils to review their greenbelt boundaries to meet targets, identifying and prioritising lower quality ‘grey belt’ land.    ★ Any development on greenbelt must meet strict requirements, via new ‘golden rules’, which require developers to provide the necessary infrastructure for local communities, such as nurseries, GP surgeries and transport, as well as a premium level of social and affordable housing. ★ To further tackle the housing crisis, councils and developers will also need to give greater consideration to social rent when building new homes and local leaders have greater powers to build genuinely affordable homes for those who need them most.  Author: MHCLG   Weblink to the Framework here: https://lnkd.in/d6XzEX6 #TheSiriusGroup #WeAreSirius #SiriusPlanning #NPPF #NationalPlanningPolicyFramework #Planning #Policy #Framework  

#AngelaRayner has just been speaking in the #HouseofCommons this afternoon setting out the #Government’s plans to meet #Labour’s pledge of building 1.5 million new homes.  Rayner said that “it is not just a professional responsibility but a moral obligation to see more homes built”.     Some of the key #planningreforms announced, which Rayner has said are “only the first step”, include:   1). All Councils in England are to be given new, mandatory housing targets which will see the annual total rise from 300,000 to over 370,000 per year; 2). There will be a requirement placed on councils to review their #greenbelt land when insufficient brownfield land for homes is available, with #greybelt being identifying and prioritised; 3). #Greybelt sites will only be built on if they meet the Government’s #goldenrules that half of homes are #affordable, the plans enhance the local environment and the necessary infrastructure is in place, such as schools and GP surgeries.   The draft revisions to the #NPPF, which are now out for consultation, can be found below, with the revisions expected to be published before the end of the year, which will be followed by further reforms in the #PlanningandInfrastructureBill. #angelarayner #housebuilding #planningreforms #NPPF #housingtargetrise #brownfield #greybelt #greenbelt

Earlier this year I was invited to give evidence before the Portfolio Committee No. 7 – Planning and Environment inquiry 'Development of the Transport Oriented Development Program', along with Professor Hazel Easthope, Professor Bill Randolph, Emeritus Professor Peter Phibbs and Dr Sophie-May Kerr, PhD. I am pleased to see that the Committee adopted my recommendation that 'the NSW Government continue to address the broad range of issues contributing to the housing crisis, noting in particular...reviewing the operation of strata title to minimise legal complexity and financial risk for apartment owners'. However, the Committee noted that 'the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure is not responsible for strata.' Exactly. This is why we need a government department with responsibility for the whole lifecycle of strata title that can advise other departments, like Planning. It is complete madness that the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure is expected to incentivise strata and seriously complex stratum developments without government or independent expertise in relation to those titles. That is like expecting the Department of Health to recommend a particular COVID vaccine without providing it with vaccine expertise. We are sleepwalking into future legal nightmares for the very people the government is purporting to assist with new housing. #TODs #strata #stratum #housing #housingaffordability #housingcrisis #embeddednetworks #sustainability #infrastructure #highdensity #cities #architecture #planning Planning Institute of Australia Australian College of Strata Lawyers Australian Institute of Architects Full report: https://lnkd.in/gQFyX9at

Last week, the government published its much-anticipated updates to the NPPF, which have provided clarity on reforms to the planning process and how its ambitious housing targets can be met.   Headline announcements include: ➡️Local authorities must now achieve mandatory housing targets ➡️Local authorities have just 12 weeks (until 12 March 2025) to ensure Local ➡️Plans are up-to date, including a new requirement where for plans based on old targets that are still in place from July 2026, councils will need to provide for an extra year’s supply, meaning effectively a 6 year housing land supply requirement ➡️Green belt development should be reviewed in order to meet housing targets, including prioritising grey belt land ➡️Where green belt development is necessary, it must abide by new ‘golden rules’ which require developers to provide community infrastructure such as surgeries, nurseries and transport links, as well as premium social and affordable housing ➡️£100m additional cash is allocated for councils’ planning officers, along with 300 additional planning officers ➡️No national benchmark land value   Trevor Wells, our Planning & Development Director, welcomes the updates. He comments: “The new NPPF outlines clear parameters for ramping up housebuilding and delivering growth at a significant scale. It provides specific guidelines for unlocking development land, with routes to achieve these, and, most importantly, deadline for compliance. It demonstrates a serious commitment to address the UK’s housing need.   “It’s also pleasing to read that local authority planning departments will be injected with much needed resources, which will hopefully accelerate our beleaguered planning system and enable faster decision-making.   “To capture the potential opportunity the NPPF will bring, early engagement is necessary and we strongly recommend landowners make contact so we can discuss their land in good time and advise on appropriate action,” adds Trevor.   For landowners seeking advice, please contact Trevor Wells or Tom Knowles.   #NPPF #NPPFUpdates #HousingTargets #UKHousing #Planning #Development #Land #LandNews #PlanningNews #GreenBelt #GreyBelt #LandValues #HousingDelivery #LandSupply

As the UK welcome #Labour into Government, we are set for a raft of significant changes to #PlanMaking and #DecisionTaking. #ChancellorRachelReeves has set out the administration’s clear aspirations to encourage #growth within the UK and its intentions to ensure the #PlanningSystem delivers this. By the end of July, we can expect consultation on a revised ‘growth focused’ #NPPF, which includes the restoration of #housingtargets and a new approach to meeting #housingneeds in the #GreenBelt.   However, for now, the December 2023 NPPF hangs on and we continue to play by the #Conservative’s rules. As a result of this, DHA Planning Group are pleased to share our Summer 2024 South-East England Local Plan Housing Update, which provides the following: i). Data from 7 regions:  #London, #Kent, #Surrey, #EastSussex, #WestSussex, #Hampshire and #Berkshire; ii). Identifies the #HousingLandSupply, #HousingDeliveryTest of an Authority, and confirms if they are a 4 or 5 year Authority; iii). Provides an update on the Emerging Plan of Authorities; and iv). Review of whether the presumption in favour of #sustainabledevelopment applies. We hope that the update below provides a useful insight, and please make sure to keep an eye-out for our future updates!  In the meantime, if you have any queries relating to the Local Plan process, please contact DHA's Greg Filmer, Matt Porter or David Bedford.

🚨 NW Local Plan Update - CHESHIRE EAST 🚨 Cheshire East Council has published an updated Local Development Scheme (LDS) ahead of the Environment and Communities Committee meeting next Thursday. Key points: - The timetable in the LDS should be “treated with caution” due to uncertainties around the government’s continued roll-out of planning reform and in advance of full guidance and legislation on new-style local plans (expected in summer 2025). - CEC would have preferred not to have published an LDS until later in the year once there is more certainty on the above, but an LDS has been published now to meet the government’s deadline of 6 March 2025. A further updated LDS is likely to follow later in 2025. - A further call for sites exercise and the publication of spatial options that could meet the Council’s development requirements will be required, and are expected to take place toward the end of 2025 or early 2026. - The timeline for the new Local Plan indicates Publication in Q1 2027, Submission in Q3 2027 and and adoption in Q3 2028. In the meantime, CEC accept that they can no longer demonstrate a 5YHLS on the basis of the revised local housing need figure. Get in touch if helpful to discuss... #planning #localplans #cheshireeast

John Bosworth - New Government, New Towns and New Approaches It is exciting to see that the Government has wasted no time in appointing a panel tasked with identifying suitable sites for major new residential development of circa 10,000 homes apiece. As the article states the aim is to find the right places to build these new communities. Whilst land use planning issues will undoubtedly be the most important factors in identifying these sites another important consideration will be the ability of local authorities to deliver them. The Government has already recognised the lack of resources as being a hinderance to the effective performance of local planning authorities and there should be no underestimating the amount of local authority resources needed to deliver a new settlement be it planning, highways, biodiversity, legal or other officers. If CPO is needed to unlock the site's potential then that is an entirely different level of engagement. Will the Task Force take account of local authority skills and resources in deciding where are the right places to build and will it have the power to recommend additional resources where they will be needed? One further suggestion - that a national delivery body be established with staff of all disciplines who can be seconded to local authorities where additional delivery resources or skills are needed to enable these new communities to happen. #commercialrealestate #commercialproperty #planning #planninglaw #taskforce #building https://lnkd.in/eV5KuxzC