Town Planning inhibits UK construction industry

Bob Hilder, Land Director of R W Hilder & Co explains why he feels Town Planning is putting a strain on the UK construction industry.

“Purchasers moving into their brand new home have little appreciation of the hoops the developer has to jump through to get a planning consent to build on greenfield sites.

1. ‘Greenfield Developments’* starts by identifying potential development opportunities and ‘promoting’ the land into a Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS), which is couched around housing numbers (dictated by Central Government and passed down to County Councils), which are then processed through District Councils.

2. Identified sites are then promoted into the Local Development Framework (LDF), to be finally ratified by an Inspector of the Department of Environment.

3. ‘Greenfield Developments’ prepares a layout of the scheme and carries out various reports e.g. flood and risk assessments. Ecological surveys may discover the presence of door mice, great crested newts, slow worms, bats and badgers and these delightful creatures can only be relocated at certain times so their breeding times are not disturbed. This may result in a delayed start of construction, and possibly, a reduction in the amount of land available for redevelopment.

4. A Section 106 Agreement has to be negotiated and agreed between the Local Authority and the Land Owner. The Section 106 incorporates contributions from ‘Greenfield Developments’ for education, library, transport etc and also the percentage of units to be constructed for Social Housing.

5. A separate legal agreement for the provision of Social Housing, between the Developer and the Social Housing provider is negotiated.

6. Many months later when ‘Greenfield Developments’ is on site, he has to comply with spade-loads of Regulations, ie Health and Safety, and the planning conditions imposed. At the same time he is managing a construction site plus all the various marketing activities, sales, viewings, prospective purchasers moving in to a ‘work-in-progress’ construction site.”

Bob concludes, “Planning Applications are fraught with difficulties – and ‘politically’ the provision of new homes on the edge of settlements is never a ‘vote-winner’. All parties involved in the construction industry need to work together within a workable policy. Realistic objectives and targets must be set from the start and reviewed regularly. Any time saved in planning negotiations must be a benefit to all parties concerned.”

We believe the planning system is getting it wrong and we’d like to know what you think.

*Fictional developer for the purposes of this content.

Housing planning on the political agenda …

Thankfully, we’re starting to see signs of increased activity in the Brighton & Hove housing market. And today’s announcement from the ONS confirming the UK’s longest and deepest recession has finally come to an end comes as a relief to many.

But where does this leave us with the issue of housing, and especially the current planning policy framework for affordable housing?

Some Councils are seeking unrealistic targets for affordable housing given the current market downturn. By default the majority of planning applications now need to be supported with a viability appraisal, meaning that land values and developer profit are being determined and, in some cases, capped by local government.

We believe the planning system is getting it wrong on more than one level - please let us have your thoughts, because the industry needs to voice these concerns!

Learning block? Residential Lettings & Property Management

What would persuade someone who’s been a landlord for nearly 15 years to take the Technical Award in Residential Lettings & Property Management course?

Also someone who runs a very busy and successful lettings and property management business in Hove, East Sussex (Callaways Estate & Lettings Agents)?

It’s quite simple - legislation is getting more stringent within the industry and it will DO ME & MY COMPANY GOOD to have this additional ‘award’. Secondly, I enjoy learning and whilst some of the other subjects I was going to study have now been put on the back burner, I intend to complete this course VERY quickly.

I’ll let you know how I get on - but first I’m taking a look through the weighty workbook that’s been sent to me and having a browse at the 4 units I’ll be studying over the next months.

Unit 1 is Health & Safety, Security and General Law - wonder if there’s anything about getting to work in the snow in there?