'Better to have a large local plan than a large national plan'

Yesterday the department for communities and local government held a select committee hearing on the NPPF. Our consultant David Scane was in attendance, and found proceedings to pose more questions than were answered:

‘Why should the planning system be easy for developers?’ So asked Councillor Gary Porter at the DCLG select committee hearing into the NPPF yesterday afternoon. Councillor Porter is the leader of South Holland District Council, the vice chair of the Local Government Leadership Board and, most importantly, co-author of the draft NPPF. What has been branded in some quarters as a ‘developers’ charter’ was being given a rather different face by one of the document’s key authors.

Responding to a question from Conservative MP George Hollingbery, who asked whether it was not the case that developers would find it hard to cope with lots of different local authorities producing different forms of local plans, Councillor Porter said that, yes they would, and this was something to be welcomed.

Councillor Porter is a strong advocate of localism, and an ardent critic of top-down regulations. The message that he gave to the committee yesterday was that if local authorities have sufficiently comprehensive local plans, then the NPPF is all that’s required for planning guidance. While under further questioning later he did concede that a robust local plan could end up having to be much longer than the 52 page NPPF, the message was loud and clear: it’s ‘better to have a large local plan than a large national plan’.

So where does this leave the house building industry? John Slaughter of the Home Builders Federation greatly welcomes the draft NPPF, saying that it would produce positive local plans, with more development based upon local wishes. He bemoaned the brownfield-first policies of the previous Government, saying that there was simply not enough to build the houses required. While he lent his wholehearted support to the document, he did acknowledge that there had been some serious issues with how the document has been presented. He also added that there will be a need for members of the HBF to engage further with local communities to make the system work properly.

Such positive opinions were not being held by all those invited to speak. Simon Jenkins, eminent political commentator and chairman of the National Trust, was under no illusion about the plans, describing them as being ‘a gift to lawyers’; arguing that most applications would be decided on appeal. His line of reasoning was that the document does indeed reflect a ‘developers’ charter’, and that there is plenty of derelict brownfield land available to provide the required housing numbers.

Once again it seems that the NPPF means different things depending on who you talk to. Ultimately, however, the message that came out of yesterday’s session was simple; regardless of what’s in the NPPF, it is vital that local authorities have thorough, evidence based plans, on which to base their housing numbers. It remains to be seen whether this message is heard by local authorities.

David Scane -- Labour Consultant, Curtin&Co

The draft NPPF will have its third Parliamentary reading on October 24^th and fourth and final reading on October 31^st. Curtin&Co will be in attendance at all readings.

Hold On! - A Conservative Conference Review

This year’s Conservative conference could be described as serious in tone but energetic in nature. Whether the numerous fringe events, speeches and policy announcements will maintain the limelight for a few weeks is doubtful. Indeed the “cat fight” between Justice Minister Kenneth Clarke MP and Home Secretary Theresa May MP seems to have grabbed the main headlines. Who would have thought a cat could maintain ones right to residency in the UK?

The highlight of any conference is the leader’s speech, which is why most were surprised to see so many empty seats in the auditorium, especially for the serving Prime Minister. Much has been made over why this was the case, but it’s clear the nature of conferences are changing; there are many more lobbyists and commercial passes than Conservative activists, and hard times mean the cost of attending in the host cities of Manchester and Birmingham is too high a price to pay for many.

The leader’s speech itself was designed to be a “pick me up” with Cameron playing to traditional Tories stressing that the UK will never join the Euro under his leadership. And what for the liberal Conservatives? Cameron put forward proposals to consult on gay marriage; but the mainstream will be most pleased with the announcement of further council tax freezes.

So what for planning? Greg Clark MP and Eric Pickles MP were watched with close eyes, most notably by the Shire Tories. Indeed the former sent tongues wagging when he didn’t speak at his arranged conference spot on the NPPF, only to appear the following day to set the need for further housing. The Cities Minister played off the notion that 37 is the average age most people will enter the property market, a statistic which will surprise many.

In a fringe event, attended by Greg Clark and Amber Rudd MP, and with a room full of lobbyists and councillors, tough questions were asked of the transitional arrangements between the existing and upcoming planning legislation. Mr Clark confirmed that the NPPF consultation was not finished and seemed to elude that changes were continuing to be made. Quite whether council leaders who don’t have a current local plan feel more secure against pre-emptive applications by developers remains to be seen but there seemed to be a confidence that the Cities Minister was on the right track.

One to watch - Amber Rudd MP has published a document with The Forty Group (forty of the party's MPs with the narrowest of majorities - 18 of them won their seats with margins of less than 1,000), entitled “Planning for Change”. A summary of the state of the current planning system and why Localism is the solution is explained in a 27 page document. A clear and direct MP, the influence of such a document is yet to be seen, but it is certainly an interesting read!

In short, the government is gearing towards investment in infrastructure and housing development; there was no significant wavering at conference by party members despite the challenges. The follow through is now close as the Localism Bill and NPPF shortly come to a head. Hold on!

James Bird -Conservative Consultant, Curtin&Co