Prop-arazzi

The Northern Ireland Construction Group was formally set up and met this morning to provide a forum for MLAs from across the political divide to discuss current issues relating to the industry.

Constituent Members include among others:

Construction Employers Federation (CEF) / Quarry Products Association Northern Ireland (QPANI) / Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)

Some of the topics that the group will discuss will include:

Planning / Housing / Government Construction Expenditure and Building Programme / Training / Design Quality / Regeneration and the Review of Public Administration.

It is proposed that the NI Assembly Construction Group will meet three times a year….in the current climate we think they might be up in Stormont a little more!

In the Republic of Ireland the Environment Minister John Gormley TD has forwarded proposals to exempt entirely heat recovery, biomass and composting developments from planning regulations. This will mean in theory that the developments will be goverened by the same planning regulations that cover kitchen extensions, conservatories and porches.

We can see this thinking causing a stir over the next few weeks prior to the Dáil committee meeting set up to see if this is nothing but hot air.

Caroline Flint was on sparkling form as she addressed a packed audience at Weber Shandwick this morning. 

Speaking to a room full of industry experts she outlined the Government policy on eco-towns, refurbishment, local government, use of government land and much more.

Watch this space for future event information.

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.

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!

After the Budget yesterday here is a run down of the Government’s forthcoming announcements. Does anything here impact on you, your business, your outlook, if so please make sure you get in contact with us at Weber Shandwick Property - the leading property communications team in the UK and Ireland.

Coming Up:

Sale and rent-back market
The Office of Fair Trading will lead a study of the market this year, focusing on consumers’ experience of these arrangements, and consider options to strengthen consumer protections

Regional strategy
The government will shortly consult on bringing together the Regional Economic Strategy (RES) and Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) into a single strategy setting out housing plans alongside wider economic, social and environmental objectives

Brownfield land
The government is introducing measures to reform the tax incentives for developing brownfield land to make them more environmentally sustainable. The government will consult on draft legislation in the summer (Red book, Chapter 5, pg 86, 5.40).

Zero carbon buildings
The government sets out an ambition for all new non-domestic buildings to be zero carbon from 2019. The government will consult this year on the timeline for this ambition and its feasibility, and review progress in 2013. (Red book, chapter 1, pg 7, 1.17) and

Green Homes Forum
In order to support effective delivery and to harness the enthusiasm and expertise of community groups and other interested parties, the government will convene a Green Homes Forum in the autumn. The government is also interested in exploring what more can be done to raise awareness amongst the public of the ways and benefits of improving domestic energy efficiency.

Zero-carbon homes
The government will set out the definition for a zero-carbon home for the purposes of the 2016 ambition by the end of 2008, following a consultation in summer

Building allowances
Legislation will be introduced in Finance Bill 2008 to give effect to changes relating to industrial building allowances, enterprise zone allowances and agricultural buildings allowances 

Relief for zero-carbon flats
Legislation will be introduced to extend SDLT relief to cover new zero carbon flats

Notification and rate thresholds
Legislation will be introduced to change the rules for persons notifying HMRC about land transactions. The “£600 rule” will also be changed and, from later this year, agents will be allowed to sign declarations in the certificate that no stamp duty land tax (SDLT) is due
 
Anti-avoidance legislation affecting partnerships
Legislation will be introduced to amend provisions to ensure that, where there is a transfer of an interest in a property within an investment partnership, there will be no charge to SDLT

House prices indices
The government will work with industry to investigate the possibilities for the development of detailed house price indices which would help the development of insurance on house price movements

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:

• ‘The Government will spend £8 billion on new, affordable and social housing over the next 3 years. This will enable the Housing Corporation to deliver 70,000 affordable new homes each year by 2010/11
• From this April, key workers and first time buyers will be able to borrow money from new shared equity schemes
• Stamp duty on shared ownership homes will not be required until buyers own 80% of the equity in their home
• Following today’s publication of the review of housing finance in the UK, the Government will seek how they can deliver the right framework for the UK to achieve affordable, long-term fixed rate mortgages. The Chancellor will report back at the Pre-Budget Report
• The Government is committed to building 3 million more homes by 2020. Sites for 70,000 more homes have been identified’.

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.

The first Cereal Networking event of 2008 proved to be a real success yesterday morning.  Liz Peace, Chief Executive of the British Property Federation, delivered her views on the challenges facing the property market in 2008 to an audience which included senior representatives of Land Securities, DP9, RICS, Teacher Stern Selby, Turley Associates and many others.

Following her assesment of the challenges, Liz expanded on:

• the challenges and opportunities for the property industry and new Minister for Housing and Planning, Caroline Flint
• the perception that in the past the property industry has made too much money (!)
• Changes to leasecode and valuation systems
• The property industry under the Conservatives
• What might be in the budget - which will be held during MIPIM week
• The role and scope of Brussells and the European Property Federation
• Stamp Duty evasion and VAT codes
• The London Mayor’s new powers and the implications for London Boroughs.

Watch this space for details of the next Cereal Networking event.