From grid connections to housing and nature restoration, Britain needs to reform how it develops. But proposals hinge on effective governance, leaving authorities and public bodies asking: with what money?
It will be the ‘biggest building boom in a generation’ promised Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Angela Raynor. A new bill to completely rethink Britain’s approach to planning landed on Tuesday, and not before time.
Faster, more efficiently and with fewer obstacles, projects from residential communities to key infrastructure could be poised to swerve – or completely sever – much of the existing red tape. Written off as a relic of an old time, back when there was more time, the mission to introduce 1.5million more homes to national housing stock has begun in earnest.
Much of what is being suggested has been welcomed. The Nature Restoration Fund sounds like it should work to plug holes in Biodiversity Net Gain [BNG] regulations by allowing multiple firms to fund large scale interventions together through a centrally administered pot. Contributions to offset environmental impact will no longer be restricted to individual schemes, leading to significant ecological improvements rather than patchwork and piecemeal efforts.
Likewise, Development Corporations could be highly effective at delivering the kind of town-sized construction now needed to meet housing demand. These organisations were used to drive post-war new towns, essentially using public finance to insure developers against the gargantuan risks of such undertakings. Meanwhile, the Strategic Planning reforms will mean decisions are based on assessments of multiple neighbouring local planning authorities, making it easier to identify balanced and joined-up growth opportunities and roadmaps.
Other elements have triggered more questions. National Significant Infrastructure Projects, including windfarms, new roads and railway lines, will be streamlined. Compulsory Purchase powers already in existence will be ‘strengthened’. Throughout the Government’s own online information about the biggest change to planning since the Second World War, there are references to ‘blockers’ – community groups, environmentalists and other local stakeholders who have, rightly or wrongly, wrongly and rightly, had the ability to stop large scale developments.
Red flags are also being raised by the authorities themselves, and for a familiar reason. Responding to the bill’s publication, council network UK100 has sounded the alarm due to the level of pressure that could fall on its members. Town and city halls across the UK are facing further cuts to budgets as Labour continue to grapple with a woeful Tory economic legacy, their own fiscal missteps, a weakening global outlook and the sudden need to rearm militarily. So with what army are local governments supposed to fight this new war on the old planning regime?
‘UK100 welcomes the government’s commitment to fix a system that’s not working for the communities or the planet. However, the reforms will be built on the premise that local authorities can make quality decisions promptly,’ says Christopher Hammond, Chief Executive at UK100. ‘Members are struggling to attract and retain senior planners, capacity and resources will continue to be restrained unless more resources are forthcoming. The Government’s own figures show a £362million deficit in the planning system, with a £4.6billion shortfall in the wider sector.
‘Ultimately, these reforms will depend on local planning functions being adequately resourced,’ he continued. ‘The government’s own figures show the stark reality of the fiscal deficit and backlog of applications already in the queue. Councils will welcome fee reform, but additional powers to ring-fence planning fees would be better to address the chronic understaffing caused by the difficulty in attracting and retaining senior planners.’
Budgetary concerns are not limited to local authorities, either. Natural England will be responsible for ‘the most significant changes to nature law in England’ since 1981. Richard Broadbent, an environmental lawyer at Freeths, questions if it will even be possible to implement this part of the plan due to resourcing.
‘Whether or not one views the proposed changes to the law as a sensible idea, simply getting this new approach off the ground will be a massive challenge, both for the Government and for Natural England which has been tasked with its delivery,’ he says. ‘The Government has been saying that existing nature laws hold up development because developers have to spend so much time assessing and addressing their impacts, but Natural England has now been tasked with this on a massive scale.’
The private sector has largely voiced support for the changes. Tom Pike, Director of Planning at the consultancy Lanpro suggests that although there needs to be more clarity on areas like Spatial Development Strategies – ‘what weight will the new spatial strategies have? Will they form part of the development plan? Will they override local plans or be subservient to them?’ – the reforms have big benefits. These include pushing National Significant Infrastructure Projects through in an age of energy insecurity and the urgent need to decarbonise.
Pike also describes Nature Restoration funds as ‘a necessary next phase in addressing these issues and an another of today’s announcements which I believe will have a very real and positive impact.’ In comparison, the idea of incentivising local communities to engage in the energy transition by basically paying them not to contest new pylons and other infrastructure, is more of a grey area.
‘Everyone benefits from clean energy but we have to accept that there is all too often a disconnect with the local communities which are in the closest contact with energy infrastructure,’ Pike says. ‘We’re seeing more and more councils and parish councils requiring and requesting direct community benefits in terms of funding and we are pleased to support local projects.’
‘Direct financial payments to individuals is a more nebulous area. It risks opening the floodgates to substantial ‘compensation’ payments potentially associated with property values, prolonged negotiations and legal challenges,’ he adds. ‘Consequently it may risk slowing down the planning process to the detriment of many. On this issue I think there is a need for more consultation and consideration of the potential impact.’
Andrew Gordon, Managing Directory of power and energy management specialist Eaton has other concerns. While tackling some fundamentals for the grid is a big leap forward – especially replacing a ‘first come, first served’ with ‘first ready, first connected’ policy – he’s quick to add the new bill doesn’t say enough about embedding flexibility and resilience into the network to guarantee consistent supplies.
‘Prioritising clean energy grid connections is vital in helping the UK become a clean energy superpower and reaching its net zero targets,’ says Gordon. ‘However, this can only happen if the grid and its users are able to fully manage the inherent intermittence of renewable energy generation. The sun doesn’t always shine in the UK, nor is wind a certainty, so it’s important we have infrastructure which allows for the generation and storage of renewable energy, as well as demand-side flexibility.’
Image: Charlie Deets / Unsplash
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