Green belt is mostly found around London and the Home Counties green field is what we have but no doubt developers MUCH prefer it to brownfield!
Daily Archives: 10 Jul 2015
Devolution, Relocation – spanners in works
“Fixing the foundations: Creating a more prosperous nation”, published by the government today:
“15.3 To rebalance the economy, cities need effective governance. OECD research has shown that cities around the world with fragmented governance structures have up to 6% lower levels of productivity than those that do not.
15.4 England currently has 353 local authorities with over 18,000 elected members.5 This can lead to fragmented decision making and blurred accountability; even within the same city region, urban and suburban leaders do not always work together on shared objectives. The experience of London and other major international cities suggests that a directly elected mayor can cut through these difficulties. The government has therefore been clear that devolution of significant powers will rest on cities agreeing to rationalise governance and put in place a mayor to inspire confidence.”
Even the Queen can’t avoid “sweated assets”!
“The sale of two government buildings in central London will compromise national security and put the Queen at risk, Lord Reid, the former Home Secretary has said.
Admiralty Arch and the Old War Office, in the heart of Whitehall, were sold to private developers for almost £200 million and are to be turned into luxury hotels.
But peers expressed grave concerns about the plans, warning that they were on the State Procession route between Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Westminster and that terrorists could use them to target the Royal Family.”
Mobile phone masts up to 15m high will no longer need planning permission
“The Chancellor wants to scrap rules which allow councils to block plans for masts taller than 15metres which could help with the rollout of 4G coverage. It is part of a plan to improve the UK’s productivity.”
A brownfield site conundrum
So, under the new relaxed planning laws, I put in a planning application on a brownfield site I own to provide 100 homes made out of plain, old second-hand shipping containers … nothing fancy, just rusty shipping containers with power and sewerage services and ultra-basic internal fittings.
Do I get automatic permission?
Planning – what planning? Localism – what localism
So here it is, page 48 onwards (page 43 on the document). Localism? What was that? This was obviously decided well in advance of the election but not publicised then.
Click to access Productivity_Plan_print.pdf
EDDC Tories, pro-development to their core, will LOVE it!
It’s true: localism is dead – murdered!
“Automatic planning permission would be granted on many brownfield sites in England in an attempt to boost house-building, under government plans.
Ministers would also get powers to seize disused land, while major housing projects could be fast-tracked, and rules on extensions in London relaxed.
Chancellor George Osborne said reforms were needed because Britain had been “incapable of building enough homes”.
It follows a warning this week’s Budget would cut investment in new homes.
The proposed changes feature in a 90-page document to address Britain’s productivity record, to be released later.
It is aimed at boosting British workers’ output levels, which experts say lag behind other leading nations – an issue dubbed the “productivity puzzle”.
The chancellor’s Fixing the Foundations package has been billed by the Treasury as the second half of the Budget.
Upwards extensions
BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins said Treasury sources argue house-building boosts productivity, as it is helpful to have workers living close to their workplaces.
Housing is just one part of a broad plan, they say.
The report also features proposals on higher education, transport, devolution of powers to cities and trade.
George Osborne says reforms are needed to planning laws so more homes are built.
Under the new proposals – which will need to be approved by MPs – automatic planning permission would be granted on all “suitable” brownfield sites under a new “zonal” system, the Treasury said.
The term brownfield refers to land that has previously been developed but is vacant or derelict.
Another change would see ministers seek to scrap the need for planning permission in London for developers who want to extend buildings to the height of neighbouring properties.
Planning powers will be devolved to mayors in London and Manchester, while enhanced compulsory purchase powers will allow more brownfield land to be made available for development.
There would also be new sanctions for councils that do not deal with planning applications quickly enough, and the government would be able to intervene in councils’ local development plans.
House prices
This week, the Office for Budget Responsibility warned government plans for rent reductions in social rented homes would hit housing investment.
The OBR said 14,000 fewer affordable homes would be built and cut its forecast for investment in private housing by 0.7%.
It also said house prices were expected to rise compared with both consumer prices and household incomes.
A Treasury source said the OBR assessment considered only the impact of the Budget and did not reflect the new policy.
In his Mansion House speech in June 2014, Mr Osborne said 200,000 permissions for new homes would be made possible by 2020 as councils put in place orders to provide sites with outline planning permission.
Housing ladder
The Treasury said the new plan went further – in effect stripping away the need for any planning permission in some brownfield locations.
The Conservative manifesto pledged to “ensure that 90% of suitable brownfield sites have planning permission for housing by 2020”.
In a statement released before the publication of the productivity plan, Mr Osborne said: “Britain has been incapable of building enough homes.
“The reforms we made to the planning system in the last Parliament have started to improve the situation: planning permissions and housing starts are at a seven-year high.
“But we need to go further and I am not prepared to stand by when people who want to get on the housing ladder can’t do so.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33472405
East Devon Watch 