Ruth Kelly has made a statement in the House of Commons to announce the introduction of a new congestion charge for Greater Manchester. The scheme will be funded from the Transport Innovation Fund. Improved public transport links have been promised before the scheme comes online in 2013.
The scheme is expected to reduce congestion in Greater Manchester by 20% .
63 Labour MPs have signed a Commons motion opposing plans for the creation of an independent panel - the organisation at the very heart of the Planning Bill.
The MPs, led by Clive Betts, are concerned that the planning system will become skewed and (even more) illogical. The point to the fact that an application for a new football pitch may go to the Secretary of State while a new airport can fly through(!)
With Gordon Brown in serious trouble on all fronts, there is now a concern that something has to give, and the Planning Bill could be an early victim.
Just one day after David Lock claimed in the Sunday Times that the Government were planning to crash the planning process for eco-town, Caroline Flint has announced an expert panel of advisors.
The “Eco-Town Challenge Team” is made up of fourteen experts who will lay down the challenge to bidders today and ensure that as well as being eco friendly, all houses are well designed, are sensitive to local surroundings and create homes people want to live in.
The fourteen members of the Eco-Towns Challenge Panel are:
1. John Walker (Chair) - Former Chief Executive, British Urban Regeneration Association. Expert in delivery of large mixed use development
2. Dr Liz Goodwin - Chief Executive, Waste and Resource Action Programme (WRAP). Expert in use of natural resources and recycling
3. Stephen Hale - Director, Green Alliance. Environment expert
4. Sir Peter Hall - President, Town and Country Planning Association. Expert in urban issues, housing and planning
5. Wayne Hemingway - Founder, Red or Dead. Expert in design and social issues
6. Stephen Joseph - Executive Director, Campaign for Better Transport. Transport expert
7. Nick Mabey - Chief Executive, E3G. Expert in energy issues and economic development
8. Kris Murrin - TV presenter, expert in sustainable transport and children’s issues
9. Sunand Prasad - Royal Institute of British Architects President. Expert in design and architecture
10. Liz Reason - Director, Reasons to Be Cheerful consultancy. Expert in innovative approaches to energy issues and climate change
11. Sue Riddlestone - Director, BioRegional Development Group. Expert in sustainability and sustainable development
12. Joanna Yarrow - TV presenter, green-lifestyle specialist and founder of sustainability company Beyond Green
13. Richard Simmons - Expert in architecture and the built environment.
14. Lynda Addison - Managing Director of Addison & Associates. Transport and planning expert.
The Competition Commissions final report into the groceries market was released this morning - and calls for the introduction of a new competition test for grocery stores at the planning stage.
In a report which focused on the needs of customers, the Commission concluded that while grocers are providing a good value, action is needed to improve local markets and relationships between suppliers and supermarkets.
For the supermarkets this will mean:
In practice, this will mean the OFT becomes a statutory consultee on planning applications and will judge and report to the planning authority on an application’s ”competition test”.
The report will not mean any immediate sales of sites by big supermarkets chains, but in specified areas, there will be a requirement to release restrictive covenants within 6 months - and new restrictive covenants will be prohibited. These measures are designed to encourage the development of new supermarkets in areas previously dominated by a single supplier.
For more details - please contact Weber Shandwick on 020 7067 0341
Housing Minister, Caroline Flint, has announced the short list for Gordon Brown’s ten eco-town’s this morning. The towns are designed with the twin aims of addressing the housing shortage and creating low - or zero - carbon communities in the UK.
The areas on the short list are:
- Pennbury, Leicestershire: 12-15,000 homes on a development incorporating brownfield, greenfield and surplus public sector land. Four miles south east of Leicester. This proposal could include 4,000 new affordable houses in an area of high affordability pressure.
- Manby and Strubby, Lincolnshire: 5,000 homes put forward by East Lindsey District Council on two sites, with large elements of brownfield land including a former RAF base. The proposal complements the strategic plan for the phased relocation of communities on Lincolnshire coast because of high flood risk, and could include 1,500 affordable homes in an area of very high affordability pressure.
- Curborough, Staffordshire: 5,000 homes on the brownfield site of the former Fradley airfield, ten miles from Burton. The proposal could include 2,000 affordable houses in an area of very high affordability pressure.
- Middle Quinton, Warwickshire: 6,000 homes on a former Royal Engineers depot which has a rail link to the Worcester-London rail line. Six miles South West of Stratford upon Avon. The proposal could include 2,000 affordable houses in an area of very high affordability pressure.
- Bordon-Whitehill, Hampshire: 5-8,000 homes on a site owned by the Ministry of Defence. A significant number of ex-MoD homes are already on the site, west of Whitehill-Bordon. The proposal could include 2,000 affordable houses in an area of very high affordability pressure.
- Weston Otmoor, Oxfordshire: 10-15,000 homes on a site adjoining the M40 and the Oxford-Bicester railway. Three miles south west of Bicester, the site includes a current airstrip. The scheme could include between 3,000 and 5,000 affordable homes, in an area of extreme affordability pressure.
- Ford, West Sussex: 5,000 homes on a site which includes brownfield land and the former Ford airfield. Close to rail line linking London and the Sussex coast. The scheme could include 1,500 affordable homes, in an area of very high affordability pressure.
- Imerys China Clay Community, Cornwall: Development of around 5,000 homes on former china clay workings, industrial land and disused mining pits no longer needed by owner Imerys. Close to St Austell. The scheme could include 1,500 affordable homes, in an area of extreme affordability pressure.
- Rossington, South Yorkshire: Up to 15,000 homes regenerating the former colliery village of Rossington, three miles south of Doncaster. The scheme could include 1,500 affordable homes, in an area of moderate affordability pressure.
- Coltishall, Norfolk: 5,000 homes on a former RAF airfield, eight miles north of Norwich. The scheme could include 2,000 affordable homes in an area of very high affordability pressure.
- Hanley Grange, Cambridgeshire: 8,000 homes on land adjacent to the A11 designed to improve the severe lack of housing in and around Cambridge. The scheme could include 3,000 affordable homes in an area of extreme affordability pressure.
- Marston Vale and New Marston, Bedfordshire: Up to 15,400 homes on a series of sites, including former industrial sites, along the east-west rail line to Stewartby and Millbrook. The scheme could include 2,000 affordable homes in an area of high affordability pressure.
- Elsenham, Essex: A minimum of 5,000 homes north east of the existing Elsenham village. Close to M11 and the London to Cambridge rail line. The scheme could include 1,800 affordable homes in an area of extreme affordability pressure.
- Rushcliffe, Nottinghamshire: An eco-town proposal was submitted for Kingston-on-Soar, to the south of Nottingham. In response to representations from Rushcliffe Borough Council, this site is not to be pursued. However, the Government is proposing to carry out a further review in partnership with RBC to consider whether there is a suitable alternative location with the potential to be viable within the Rushcliffe local authority area.
- Leeds City Region, Yorkshire: A number of eco-town proposals were submitted for locations within the area of Leeds City Region partnership of 11 authorities and principally between Leeds and Selby. The Leeds City Region Partnership has indicated support in principle for an eco-town within the sub-region. The Partnership has proposed a further study to compare the best alternative locations across the Leeds City Region partnership area. The Government has agreed to support this approach, on the basis that it will allow a further announcement to be made shortly of one or more sites for consultation
All the sites are expected to be deeply controversial - and Weber is on standby to help!
Following a successful report and third reading in the House of Commons yesterday, the Housing & Regeneration Bill will now go on to the House of Lords for further scrutiny and consideration.
The Bill:
It is expected that Baroness Kay Andrews will lead the Bill through the Lords on behalf of the Government. No date has been set for 1st Reading in the Lords.
The Planning Bill, which focuses on major planning and infrastructure developments remains in development following the Commons committee stages. No date has been set for report and third reading in the Commons chamber.
With Cheltenham rained off until tomorrow we thought we would have a quick listen into today’s activity at the House of Commons, and what do you know - IT’S BUDGET DAY. Making his first Budget speech to the House, Chancellor Darling outlined the following with reference to the housing and property sector. He said:
Come back soon for the fall out and reaction to the Budget…
Give us a call if you would like the full SP on the Budget on 020 7067 0000 or log on to www.wsknowledgeshop.com
On Friday The London Assembly’s planning and spatial development committee published a report on the use of Section 106 Agreements …. so we thought we would take a look at it for you.
Key points:
- The planning system is designed to balance development with the economic, social and environmental effects on the wider community. Section 106 (S106) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 ensures local authorities can acquire contributions from developers to both secure the infrastructure needed to support their new development(s) and also to mitigate the impact of the development. These contributions can be both financial contributions and also benefits in kind.
- Direct financial payments to London boroughs could exceed £1 billion in the next ten years with hundreds of millions more in terms of ‘in kind’ benefits such as new affordable homes, improvements to the public transport network and new open spaces provided directly by developers themselves.
- The LA review has found that developers generally support having to contribute to ‘mitigate’ the effects of their proposals. But, they also need to be clear what is likely to be expected of them at an early stage of the process – and even before they apply for planning permission – to calculate whether their development can be viable.
- The skills and resources of the local authorities and their staff involved in negotiating S106 are hugely important, yet one third of boroughs do not think they have enough staff devoted to S106. This problem is compounded by high staff turnover, which is increasing, and means that experience is lost to the organisation: Boroughs need to have not only staff with adequate skills to negotiate S106 – they need to have enough of them devoted to this particular aspect of the planning process.
- The LA recommend that boroughs and universities set up some form of formal post qualification and training specifically aimed at improving S106 skills.
- The LA also recommend the boroughs and Mayor think about pulling together those local authority planners, valuers and lawyers who already have the widest range of experience of the most complex planning agreements and making their skills available to the rest of London when they are needed.
- The LA feels there would be merit in ring fencing some of the S106 monies to direct towards training for planning officers in negotiation skills: Ultimately this could be self-financing if better skilled staff were able to lever in more S106 funds as a result of better training and skills.
- Outside the professionals there is an important role for the local councillor and the communities that they represent. They are the ones who should be aware of potential applications that may have negative impacts for their local area. They should also be involved in developing priorities for any money that S106 may generate and making sure that agreements are upheld and the money is spent.
- Government guidance quite clearly states that councillors and communities should be more involved in devising policies for managing planning obligations through Statements of Community Involvement.
- Boroughs must do more to ensure that councillors and the community have sufficient knowledge of the S106 process and the available information about what is going on. There must be a policy that is in place and clearly communicated to the community that makes the process transparent and accessible for those who want to be involved.
- Boroughs should prioritise the monitoring of S106 agreements. They should also make available, in a simple and accessible format, all details of signed S106 agreements along with the regular monitoring reports of how those agreements are being implemented.
- From now on it is not just the boroughs in London that will decide planning applications and negotiate S106 agreements. The GLA Act 2007 gives the Mayor new planning powers that will allow him to take over and determine small numbers of applications that have potential strategic importance for London. Details of these planning powers are still being finalised but it is expected that they will come into effect in April 2008.
- While there has been no formal statement from the Mayor about exactly how he will exercise his new planning powers, including his policy and priorities for S106 negotiations, the Committee expects the Mayor to act in a way that reflects our calls for boroughs to increase transparency and accountability throughout the process.
In a widely trailed speech to the Fabian society this week, new Housing Minister, Caroline Flint, has shown that she will not be scared to think radically or provoke controversy.
In her speech the Minister told her audience that “housing in Britain does not need moderate reform. It needs urgent attention and swift action”. Mrs Flint wants to return to a situation where a council house was “something to prize” and not just a safety net in sink areas - an objective we can all support.
More controversially, Mrs Flint has linked housing and employment with the threat that those who fail to seek employment will not be given access to council housing. At the same time she called for better and more broad ranging support for tenants to ensure that they get broad ranging help and social care to break the link between council housing and unemployment.
With two important Bills to push through Parliament, we may see the order shaken up more than we think.
Following Peter Hain’s resignation, a whirlwind reshuffle has seen Yvette Cooper move from her long held post at Department of Communities and Local Government to become Chief Secretary to the Treasury – a promotion to full voting status within the Cabinet.
Yvette will be replaced by Caroline Flint, one of the 1997 intake of MPs and a former Minister at the Departments of Health and Work & Pensions. Caroline has also been acting as Minister for Yorkshire and Humber.
For more information, please call us on 020 7067 0341.
