Planning Bulletin Articles - Mar 2018

Nick Taylor, head of national planning, Carter Jonas, said: “The key theme for the revised draft of the NPPF is a greater emphasis on plan making, which is underscored by a simple reordering of the document. There is more reference to strategic planning and encouraging cooperation between local authorities. This sounds suspiciously like a return to some form of regional spatial planning, which we think is needed for housing delivery, and it is clear is that the Government is now committed to enforcing greater collaboration between local authorities. We are involved in a number of large-scale housing projects along the Oxford Cambridge Arc, which was singled out by the Secretary of State, and can attest to the success a shared vision has on the speed of delivery. So it can be done where there is a will and a desire, but the question is what will be done where there is little will or desire?
           
“Entry-level homes on land not already allocated for housing is a welcome addition and a potential vote winner. It opens up the possibility of more new developments on the edge of settlements, but we will wait to see what the Government deems to be a ‘high proportion’ as new schemes come forward. There is an opportunity to take this idea further by including it in the mix of tenures for existing large-scale developments and the new garden villages highlighted by the Secretary of State. Conversely, on area of concern is the renewed focus on small sites as this could increase the burden on already stretched resources in local authorities.”

Click here to find out about the Planning & Development Consultancy services available at Carter Jonas.

For further information, please contact a member of our team:

Nick Taylor
Partner, Planning & Development
0207 016 0733
Nick.Taylor@carterjonas.co.uk

The Housing & Finance Institute (HFI) have said that housing should be designated as a specific national infrastructure priority.

This concept comes as part of a three-prolonged strategy that the HFI said would speed up development and aid the government in their pledge to build 300,000 homes every year.

This ambitious target was last achieved in 1969 and the HFI has warned that due to the economic uncertainty we face this year it means the “considerable uplift” in the delivery of homes should not be expected. In addition to this the sector “is not confident” that it can deliver the increase in numbers required to meet the new target without a “radical” change in the way the government supports the industry.

Chief Executive at the HFI Natalie Elphicke highlighted that although the government is on track to deliver one million homes by 2020, “a further increase in building from 160,000 homes to 200,000-250,000 homes a year would be an impressive feat”.

“The ambition of the government is to be applauded. But make no mistake, 300,000 new homes is a truly tough target." She added: “The view is very much ‘steady as she goes’ rather than gearing up for a major shift in delivery numbers”.

The HFI has advised that in order to help accelerate growth the government “must be seen” to take housing infrastructure seriously. Also a focus on modular housing and “state-of-the-art” manufacturing would also boost productivity and assist the government in meeting its target, “while securing quality, consistency and affordability”.

The HFI have also said that more attention is required to combine public and private finance to support housebuilding and a lot more money is required to build 300,000 homes a year.

Click here to find out about the Planning & Development Consultancy services available at Carter Jonas.

For further information, please contact a member of our team:

Nick Taylor
Partner, Planning & Development
0207 016 0733
Nick.Taylor@carterjonas.co.uk

Whilst visiting Alconbury, a former airfield in Cambridge, housing secretary Sajid Javid launched national housing agency Homes England, as outlined in the 2017 Autumn Budget to replace the Homes and Communities Agency.

By drawing on their existing planning expertise combined with their new found power to purchase land, Homes England have pledged to work with the government in order to “fix the broken housing market” and meet their target of delivering 300,000 homes a year.

Sajid Javid said: “This government is determined to build the homes our country needs and help more people get on the housing ladder. Homes England will be at the heart of leading this effort. The development at Alconbury is a prime example of how the agency has worked to deliver thousands of new homes, as well as improve roads and create space for local businesses.”

Chief Executive at British Property Federation Melanie Leech, said: “We welcome the launch of the new Homes England, and we look forward to working even more closely on the delivery of much-needed new homes across the UK. It’s clear there is growing momentum behind the government’s housing agenda and we are delighted with the continuing policy support for a multi-tenure approach to housing supply, creating great places and the remediation of land. This will be vital if the housing white paper and the changes to the National Planning Policy Framework have any chance of making a significant impact on volume and affordability.”

Click here to find out about the Planning & Development Consultancy services available at Carter Jonas.

For further information, please contact a member of our team:

Nick Taylor
Partner, Planning & Development
0207 016 0733
Nick.Taylor@carterjonas.co.uk

The Local Government Association (LGA), who represent 370 councils in England and Wales, have said that permitted development rights rules are damaging to local communities and that they should be dropped. Research that the LGA have conducted suggests that nearly one in 10 new homes have been converted from an existing office over the last two years.

The LGA have said that permitted development rights have led “to the potential loss of more than 7,500 desperately-needed affordable homes”, highlighting that since 2015 over 30,500 housing units have been converted from offices to flats in England without having to go through the planning system.

The LGA have said in a statement: “Office to residential conversions under permitted development rules accounted for 73 per cent of new homes in Stevenage, 64 per cent in Three Rivers, and 61 per cent in Sutton during 2016/17,”

“In Nottingham, Basildon, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Hounslow and Harlow the number was more than half.”

The housing spokesperson at the LGA, Martin Tett has said in addition to permitting offices to be converted to flats without providing affordable housing resulting in losing office space “can risk hampering local plans to grow economies and attract new businesses and jobs to high streets and town centres”

A senior planner, Daniel Frisby at law firm DMH Stallard agreed with the LGA’s comments and said:

“As well as this policy having no provision for councils to require the delivery of affordable housing, it also fails to enforce appropriate minimum space standards”.

“In our experience this leads to extremely poor living accommodation with some units being as small as 15 meters squared (less than half the standard advised floor space for one-bedroom flats).

“While the policy has been helpful to regenerate disused offices, the lack of control with respect of affordable housing and minimum space standards is a concern and could be easily rectified. These homes also put pressure on local infrastructure without the means to require development contributions to be made.”

Click here to find out about the Planning & Development Consultancy services available at Carter Jonas.

For further information, please contact a member of our team:

Nick Taylor
Partner, Planning & Development
0207 016 0733
Nick.Taylor@carterjonas.co.uk

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has been rebranded by Prime Minister, Theresa May as the ‘Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’. Secretary of state at the department, Sajid Javid will remain in his position, Dominic Raab has become the new housing minister as Alok Sharma who was the previous housing and planning minister for seven months has been moved to the role of employment minister. Greg Clark remains as business and energy secretary and Rich Sunak has been appointed as the Parliamentary under Secretary of State at the MHCLG.

Stephen Wilkinson MRTPI, RTPI president, responded to the changes and said of Javid’s reappointment: “His reappointment provides continuity to this crucial portfolio. While the elevation of ‘housing’ to the cabinet is welcome and reflects its importance, action on delivering more homes which people can afford is key.”

Wilkinson also welcomed Dominic Raab to the housing portfolio and said: "As the largest professional body to represent planners and planning in the UK, the RTPI is looking forward to working with the new minister, Dominic Raab in his new position as housing minister. Planners are critical to the successful delivery of more homes, of all types and tenures, in locations across the UK supported by the right infrastructure."

Click here to find out about the Planning & Development Consultancy services available at Carter Jonas.

For further information, please contact a member of our team:

Nick Taylor
Partner, Planning & Development
0207 016 0733
Nick.Taylor@carterjonas.co.uk

On the 11th January, Prime Minister Theresa May launched ‘A Green Future: Our 25 Year Plan to Improve the Environment’ which looks to “strengthen the relevant protections” in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and pledges to improve air and water quality in the UK and “protect our many threatened plants, trees and wildlife species.”

The plan states that any new development will happen in the right place, delivering “maximum economic benefit while taking into account the need to avoid environmental damage.” Also to “Improve the way we manage and incentivise land management, including designing and delivering a new environmental land management system.”

As Theresa May and her government aim to build 300,000 houses this year the plan outlines that the green belt will be improved so it becomes the “breathing space for our urban populations to enjoy”. Additionally that new homes will be built differently in order to reduce the demands for water, energy and materials. The environment will be “put at the heart” of development in order to create places where people want to work and live. It highlights that the planning process could be shortened and local oppositions to development reduced by positive environmental outcomes.  

Click here to find out about the Planning & Development Consultancy services available at Carter Jonas.

For further information, please contact a member of our team:

Nick Taylor
Partner, Planning & Development
0207 016 0733
Nick.Taylor@carterjonas.co.uk

The planning system has the ability to tackle social ills but all too often the system‘s inflexibility and lack of clarity results in a failure to deliver the ‘bigger picture’.

Take housing for older people:  we have an increasing ageing population which requires appropriate accommodation and care.  Planning has the power to reduce the financial cost of caring for the elderly in hospitals and other institutions, by enabling developments which provide older people with many social and economic benefits tailored to meet their changing needs. Yet a lack of consensus on Use Class definitions for such developments is potentially stifling the number of schemes coming forward.

DEFINITIONS

Class C2 – according to the Use Classes Order 1987 (as amended):
‘Use for the provision of residential accommodation and care to people in need of care other than a use within a class C3 (dwelling house). Use as a hospital or nursing home …’

Class C3 – following Circular 8/2010:
‘C3 (a) those living together as a single household – a family; C3(b) those living together as a single household and receiving care;…’

Care – according to the Use Classes Order 1987 (as amended):
‘Personal care for people in need of such care by reason of old age, disablement, past or present on alcohol or past or present mental disorder.’

There is a general acceptance that a residential care home, which usually consists of bedrooms with either en-suite or shared bathrooms, communal dining rooms and other facilities with on-site care, falls within Class C2. By contrast, sheltered housing, comprising self-contained accommodation with a warden but no direct provision of care is seen simply as ‘housing’, and thus Class C3 development. So where should a retirement community properly sit, why does it matter and is a wholesale review of the Use Classes Order required?

Changing needs
There is little dispute that if we are to encourage people to move out of the family home when they become an ‘empty-nester’, divorce or lose a partner, suitable alternative housing needs to be provided; which in turn makes their home available to the next generation.

However, decisions to move out of choice are often deferred because as we grow old we think we need to retain our comfortable bricks and mortar investment to pay for care in our old age. As a result we stay put until we are forced into a ‘crisis move’ which is unplanned, with the decision made by others and invariably requiring the sale of the family’s future inheritance to pay for care in and ‘end of life’ institution. Such decisions need to be made easier and whilst the housing market is  dynamic and has developed models that that take advantage of social and technological changes to provide suitable homes, the planning system is less flexible and as a result the delivery of  specialist housing is frustrated.

One particular model that seeks to encourage moves as a lifestyle choice is ‘community based retirement living’ which seeks to provide accommodation for people over a specified age (usually over 60 but sometimes over 55). Such developments are non-institutional in character, provide homes with their own front door and are designed to allow residents to live independently within their own home whilst paying for care on an ‘as and when needed’ basis, usually provided by a domiciliary provider with additional personal support from the on-site operator.

The advantage of such proposals is that they cater for a specific demographic and provide a range of shared facilities that are aimed at encouraging social interaction and avoiding isolation. In addition the homes are specially designed so that they can be adapted to respond to the occupiers’ changing needs as they grow old. Most retirement community schemes include a clubhouse which comprises social, leisure and welfare facilities, specialist health and fitness areas and administrative accommodation, with the buildings set in high quality landscaped communal grounds. All of which fosters a ‘look out for others’ environment.

While clearly popular, such models do not fit comfortably into a particular Use Class as they are perceived to fall somewhere between Class C2 and C3. The confusion usually surrounds the level of care provided, the fact that the style of accommodation is not institutional enough or the entry age has been set too low!

The reason we need clarity in this regard is because the lack of it often undermines the viability of such schemes and consequently sites snapped up by conventional housebuilders. In short, retirement communities which provide extensive communal facilities that target a restricted occupier market (the over 55s and those in need of care) are often more difficult to fund, and the additional burden of the Community Infrastructure Levy and obligations towards affordable housing can further undermine the viability of such schemes.  

This is where a C2 Use Class categorisation comes into its own. Such a classification often means retirement schemes are exempt from affordable housing obligations and in some areas even exempt from making CIL payments. In one fell swoop operators are more able to compete with traditional housebuilders when seeking to acquire sites and once over this hurdle, deliver a much needed housing product.

Emerging consensus
To understand more about how the planning system is responding to these specialist housing developments, Carter Jonas has analysed a number of recent decisions where retirement communities and have granted permissions on a Class C2 basis. This seems to suggest that there is a growing number of councils prepared to accept that developments which can satisfy the following criteria do not fall within Class C3 and can be legitimately classed as C2 developments:

•    Where there is an age-related entry requirement which requires that at least one of the occupiers of a unit is over a specified age;
•    Where the occupier is clearly in need of care at the outset (irrespective of age);
•    Where the operator of the development either provides care on site or has an arrangement with a domiciliary provider;
•    Where the scheme includes a range of communal facilities targeted at well-being and community living;
•    Where all residents are required to pay for a care package as part of a wider estate service charge, whether they are in need of care at the time of entry or not.

It seems to be accepted also that if individual homes are specifically designed to accommodate elderly persons or are capable of easy adaptation to meet the occupiers’ changing needs over time (i.e. designed to LifetimeHomes / wheelchair accessibility standards, with provision for alarms and hoists etc.), they more easily fall within the spectrum of Class C2.

Based on this knowledge, Carter Jonas has sought to differentiate between Class C2 and C3 living by identifying those facilities and services provided within a Class C2 retirement scheme and those provided by a traditional housebuilder in, say, a gated community where some communal facilities are more commonplace. Whilst there are inevitably some overlaps there appears to us to be a very clear distinction between those development that provide care and support for the elderly and those that do not.

On this basis it is our opinion that there should be no confusion as to how retirement communities should be classified.

Firstly, they cannot be classed as sui-generis (a use with no specific use class) as such developments are not technically ‘mixed use’ schemes because they have a single primary use:  that of providing specialist age-related accommodation which responds to the care needs of the occupiers. The fact that they provide a range of other ancillary functions (fitness facilities, restaurants, surgeries and even shops) supports the primary purpose and does not make the development a mixed use.

Equally they should not be seen as delivering traditional Class C3 housing as they offer a range of facilities and services targeted specifically at a special audience and are only accessible to those who qualify; i.e. they do not provide open market housing.

On the above basis, we conclude that such specialist residential uses fall clearly within the Class C2 end of the Use Class spectrum and planning applications should be approved on this basis.

At Carter Jonas we are looking for a consistency of approach if we are to deliver more retirement communities and would advocate a very minor change to the Use Classes Order which makes specific reference to retirement communities within definition of Class C2 and a broadens of the definition of care to include reference to both domiciliary provision and the provision of personal care/ support.

With such small changes the housing sector can continue to evolve and bring forward specialist housing that is tailored to meet the needs of our aging population.

Carter Jonas’ London Planning Team has secured planning permission, under section 73 for Barratt London on their high street quarter development in Hounslow Town Centre. The scheme comprises of the redevelopment of a former public car park and the construction of five mixed use blocks with 528 residential units, a multiscreen cinema and various units for retail, restaurant and café uses as well as infrastructure including 513 parking spaces and 936 cycle parking spaces.

This was the second S73 application submitted by Carter Jonas for the scheme this year, as well as other applications under Section 96A and follows the successful grant of the original planning permission in February 2016. With all pre-commencement conditions already dealt with prior to the grant of the latest permission, Barratt London has now implemented its consent on Monday 11th December. Due to be constructed over four phases, the development is expected to be completed in mid-2021.

Carter Jonas was also responsible for advising Barratt London on its Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) liability and using the Planning Team’s extensive CIL knowhow, liaised with the Council to get all the relevant paperwork in place so that Barratt London could lawfully start on site. The CIL liability, with exemptions successfully secured for social housing floorspace, totalled just under £8m.

The application brings together in excess of four years of work for Carter Jonas advising Barratt London on this scheme.

For further information please contact a member of our team:

Katy Davis
Partner, Planning & Development
020 7529 1513
Katy.Davis@carterjonas.co.uk

The London Planning Team has secured planning permission on behalf of our clients, Woodcote Estates Ltd, for six new flats on a redundant car park site in Leatherhead, Surrey. The flats will be located in a new four storey building comprising of three residential storeys above a basement car park as well as providing secure cycle and refuse storage. This redevelopment will make better use of a brownfield site that benefits from a sustainable location in central Leatherhead close to existing shops, services, amenities and public transport and help ensure the centre’s ongoing vitality.

For further information please contact a member of our team:

Katy Davis
Partner, Planning & Development
0207 529 1513
Katy.Davis@carterjonas.co.uk

Following 18 months of hard work Carter Jonas’ London Planning Team has successfully delivered the approval of reserved matters for our client, L&Q, as part of the first phase regeneration of the former Kodak factory in Wealdstone, north-west London. The phase, called ‘Aperture Works’ to draw upon the site’s legacy as a manufacturing centre of cameras and film, will provide 650 new homes as well as a food store, flexible commercial spaces and a health centre.

A new energy centre will help connect each new home with a decentralised energy network to provide low carbon heating and power. A new green link will connect Aperture Works to the wider regeneration of the former Kodak factory and onto Headstone Manor.

Aperture Works sits within the Heart of Harrow, an area designated by the Local Planning Authority, Harrow Council, and the Mayor of London as a priority area for regeneration to accommodate substantial growth and enhance the local area. The significant contribution Aperture Works will make in meeting the local area’s housing need, will allow local families to remain in the area whilst creating an opportunity for new residents to establish their own roots. The majority of non-residential facilities for the Kodak factory regeneration will be situated at Aperture Works and these will act as an extension of Wealdstone High Street ensuring its ongoing viability and vitality. A range of green spaces such as the green link, a central green, play spaces and landscaped roofs and podiums will create a mix of private and public amenity spaces that can be enjoyed by residents and visitors of all ages.

The London Planning Team has led a consultant team with a wide range of skills and knowledge to gain the council’s approval for Aperture Works by addressing a range of planning issues. Work also included a significant level of pre-application discussions with the council including workshops with urban design officers and meetings with planning officers. Meetings with Harrow’s Design Review Panel were also held, as were briefings with councillors.

The London Planning Team are now looking forward to working further with L&Q on the remaining elements of Aperture Works to make it a new piece of town that the people of Wealdstone can be proud of. Furthermore, the team’s now strong and established working relationship with Harrow Council has also seen them appointed to gain reserved matters approval for the remaining regeneration phases of the former Kodak factory site by developers Barratt London and Hyde Housing.

For further information, please contact a member of the team:

Alister Henderson
Partner, Planning & Development
0207 529 1504
Alister.Henderson@carterjonas.co.uk

The Oxford Team achieved consent for a reserved matters application for 70 dwellings for Phase 1A of the Crab Hill scheme in the Vale of White Horse District.

The outline application for up to 1,500 dwellings including new employment space, a neighbourhood centre and a primary school was approved in July 2015.

The reserved matters application was made on behalf of St Modwen Homes who are building 50% of the dwellings at Crab Hill.
Carter Jonas and St Modwen Homes worked closely with officers at Vale of White District Council and Oxfordshire County Council to agree the proposed layout and design of Phase 1A of the development.

The application was approved on 13th November 2017 and work started on site in December 2017.

For further information, please contact a member of our team:

Nicky Brock
Partner, Planning & Development
01865 297 706
Nicky.Brock@carterjonas.co.uk

Carter Jonas recently achieved planning permission for a 9,623 sq. m extension to a food production facility in Telford for Müller UK.

The site lies within the Donnington Wood Business Park which is allocated as an employment site in the Wrekin Local Plan (adopted 2000). The site continues to be allocated as a Strategic Employment Site within the emerging Telford and Wrekin Local Plan.

The proposed scheme will represent a significant investment in the region’s economy, creating jobs and providing the opportunity for the company to grow further. The scheme is proposed to increase production from the site from circa 350 million pots of yoghurt per year to 700 million pots per year.

The application received no objections from any consultees. The sites importance as an area of ecological value was raised at an early stage with particular reference to the Dingy Skipper Butterfly population. The consultant team worked closely with the Council’s ecologist to ensure that a suitable scheme of investigation and mitigation was submitted.

For further information, please contact a member of our team:

Nicky Brock
Partner, Planning and Development
01865 297 706
Nicky.Brock@carterjonas.co.uk

Carter Jonas have recently launched the first phase of an 800 dwelling development site to the market in the popular suburb of Sprowston, Norwich.

Carter Jonas’ Development Team were appointed in March 2017 to dispose of phase 1 of the site on behalf of a consortium of landowners. The site has outline planning permission for 237 units, and is likely to be of great interest to both regional and national developers due to its proximity to the growing city of Norwich.

In addition to the disposal of the site Carter Jonas successfully negotiated a reduction in the section 106 affordable housing provision on phase 1 from 25% to 15% with Broadland District Council.

The initial 28 acre land parcel will deliver between 230-250 new homes. Offers are being invited on or by the 12th March 2018.  

For further information, please contact a member of our team:

Mathew Forster
Partner, Planning & Development
01223 326540
Mathew.Forster@carterjonas.co.uk

Carter Jonas have recently secured resolution to grant planning permission for Stowmarket East, a 54 acre employment site in Mid Suffolk, on behalf of Building Partnerships Ltd.

The site, off Junction 50 of the A14, is set to deliver up to 530,000sq ft of business and industrial facilities, as well as roadside retail facilities including a drive thru restaurant. It is part of the wider 195-acre Stowmarket Business Park, strategically located between the port of Felixstowe and Cambridge.

The site forms phase 2 of a larger strategic employment allocation, which Building Partnerships Ltd sought to bring forward earlier than allowed for in the Local Plan. The Planning team successfully argued that this departure from policy was justified due to under delivery of employment land in Mid Suffolk’s plan period. The main means of access was also varied from the site allocation policy. Due to the compelling arguments put forward, the scheme achieved unanimous support at planning committee.

In addition to undertaking all planning work, Carter Jonas’ commercial team has now been appointed as the sole letting and sales agent for the Stowmarket East scheme.

For further information, please contact a member of our team:

Matthew Forster
Partner, Planning & Development  
01223 326544
Matthew.Forster@carterjonas.co.uk

The Planning North Team has recently submitted a planning application for a new 3,000 metric tonne grain store and chemical store in the green belt near to Selby to meet the needs of a well-established farming business.

For further information, please contact a member of our team:

Simon Grundy
Partner, Planning & Development
01423 707820
Simon.Grundy@carterjonas.co.uk

Working alongside their colleagues in rural management, our Planning North have been appointed to advise Noble Foods Ltd, who are the largest leading supplier of fresh eggs to the market.  Each week the company individually grade, pack and deliver over 60 million eggs to its customers.  Brands owned by the company include the Happy Egg, Big & Fresh, Eggs for Soldiers and Gü puddings.

The Planning North Team are currently advising the company on a number of schemes including the redevelopment of sites, promotion of land, affordable housing/market housing and general professional planning advice.

For further information, please contact a member of our team:

Simon Grundy
Partner
Planning & Development
01423 707820
Simon.Grundy@carterjonas.co.uk

Carter Jonas’ Planning North Team have secured planning permission for the retention of an inert material recycling business in Leeds. JM Haulage have major contracts with Tarmac and the Department for Transport covering road improvements across the north, including the M62, M1 and A1. In effect, the business takes arising’s from engineering and building operations and reprocesses the material for reuse as secondary aggregates and topsoil and for road surfacing.

However, having commenced operations on an industrial park in east Leeds they found they did not have permission for what is in strict planning terms a waste processing operation and were threatened with enforcement action. Working with both the leasehold operator and freehold landowner Carter Jonas managed the project throughout from initial discussions with the local planning authority to a successful grant of planning permission.

For further information, please contact a member of the team:

Simon Grundy
Partner, Planning & Development
01423 707820
Simon.Grundy@carterjonas.co.uk