All Articles

Blog

Wilson Wraight Planning Launch Party – 13th October 2021

Following a successful first year we were delighted to be able to host a launch party for our Planning Consultancy service at the Farmers Club in Bury St Edmunds on the 13th October 2021.

 

It was great to be able to welcome so many guests, introduce the team and share our excitement of what the new service can offer our clients over a refreshing drink and a selection of canapes.

 

We would like to thank all those who were able to attend, you made the evening a resounding success!

 

To discuss any related planning matters please contact our Head of Planning Dan Hewett

 

 

 All Articles

Blog

Wilson Wraight Planning – Autumn Update

While the debate about the forthcoming Planning Bill rumbles on, a number of potentially radical alterations to the planning system have been introduced. Among these are the merging of many traditional town centre use classes into the single use class E, and the expansion of permitted development to cover conversions from class E to residential, upwards extensions and demolitions to create new housing.

 

The government’s policy allowing homes to be built on sites not allocated in a local plan under its new First Homes initiative, is arguably another radical alteration. Detailed in a written ministerial statement and explained further in planning practice guidance and the government’s response to its First Homes consultation, the policy has potentially significant repercussions.

 

First Homes are new build properties to be sold at a discount of at least 30 per cent to first-time buyers, the majority of which the government expects to be delivered via the planning obligations that developers undertake to mitigate the impacts of their schemes. The policy was brought into force at the end of June as a replacement to the previous ‘entry-level’ exception sites policy and offers a route to permission where sites have failed to gain support in the local plan. Unlike the entry-level exception sites policy, there is no upper limit to their size, and First Homes schemes can even include some market housing to assist viability.

 

According to housing minister Christopher Pincher’s May 24 2021 written ministerial statement, the First Homes exception site policy is designed to “maximise the number of First Homes made available to those keen to get on the housing ladder”, allowing a route to approval for unallocated sites. It replaces the previous policy intended to allow exception sites for discounted market housing for first-time buyers or renters, known as the ‘entry-level’ exception site policy. However, it does not replace the policy allowing for rural exception sites, which provide affordable rented housing in rural areas for people with local connections.

 

This policy could represent a significant opportunity, and unsurprisingly, a number of land promoters and developers have registered interest in the scheme, while some planning authorities and countryside campaigners have expressed concern it could result in unsustainable large developments.

 

However, many traditional housebuilders are likely to be put off by the fact the vast majority of homes on First Homes exception sites would have to be sold at a not insignificant discount.

 

Unfortunately, the main obstacle to the policy’s success is currently national policy as the exception sites element of it was directly contradicted in the July update to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) even though it was published after the First Homes policy. This contained no reference to First Homes, instead referring not only to the previous “entry-level” exception sites policy that the First Homes policy is supposed to replace, but also omitting reference to the development size limits being abolished.

 

Further amendments to the NPPF are intended to resolve this contradiction in due course, but for the moment it remains unclear what an inspector would make of an appeal based on the ministerial statement.

 

A further stumbling block is the current lack of local policies to make clear how First Homes will be implemented by individual planning authorities. This is important, because the national First Homes policy gives councils significant leeway, allowing them (given appropriate evidence) to set larger minimum discounts than 30 per cent, introduce additional local eligibility criteria, control the amount of market housing permitted on such sites, and set rules on the size of exception site that is considered ‘proportionate’. These are all crucial points for potential applicants to understand when deciding whether to proceed with applications or whether to take land under Option on the basis of a viable strategy to progress such a scheme. At the moment you would have to work in a policy vacuum which is undesirable for landowners and promoters due to the inability to quantify risk.

 

As a consequence of this uncertainty, it is unlikely that there will be significant interest from mainstream developers at present, although this may be a more attractive proposition for affordable housing providers who are likely to encounter less competition in the marketplace for suitable sites.

 

For further information on this and to discuss any related planning matters please contact our Head of Planning Dan Hewett

 All Articles

Blog

Recent Success

Planning Approved
Consent for New Agricultural Building

Wilson Wraight Planning has secured planning consent for a new grain store at Beccles Heliport.  As the address implies, the building was located close to an active airfield which meant it was not possible to take advantage of Permitted Development rules for new agricultural buildings under 1,000 sqm.

 

The new grain store is required to reduce the amount of transporting and double handling which currently occurs. This will result in a significant reduction in heavy goods vehicle movements through several villages in the local area.

 

The application was approved by South Norfolk Council within the statutory determination period.

 

Recent success new agricultural building

 

Recent success new agricultural building

 All Articles

Blog

Rural Planning and Development Opportunities Update – May 2021

The recent national media speculation that a planning bill would be included in the government’s legislative programme over the next year was finally confirmed in the much anticipated Queen’s speech in May where Her Majesty announced that “Laws to modernise the planning system, so that more homes can be built, will be brought forward.”

 

The planning bill is intended to create a simpler, faster, and more modern planning system, ensuring homes and infrastructure can be delivered more quickly across England. This is big news for the sector which is expecting the bill to result in the biggest shake up of the planning system for 70 years.  According to the background briefing notes the bill is intended to “Transform our planning system from a slow document-based one to a more efficient and easier to use digital and map-based service, allowing more active public engagement in the development of their local area”.

 

The main elements of the bill as set out in this document will be:

  • Changing local plans so they provide more certainty over the type, scale and design of development permitted on different categories of land.
  • Significantly decreasing the time it takes for developments to go through the planning system.
  • Replacing the existing developer contributions systems with a new more predictable and more transparent levy.
  • Using post-Brexit freedoms to simplify and enhance the framework for environmental assessments for developments.

Ministers are expected to enact a radical shift in the way decisions are made on new developments by zoning land either for ‘growth’, where developers will be allowed to build homes and related infrastructure such as schools and hospitals without individual planning consents, or ‘protection’ where development will be restricted.

 

There is a concern amongst some planning professionals that rural areas are once again being left behind, whilst others are concerned that the proposed changes will result in a dramatic loosening of planning laws to create a housebuilding boom resulting in the destruction of large swathes of countryside.

 

Is there a danger the changes brought forward through the planning bill will result in many rural areas being washed over with protection policies as part of this new zoning approach? There is much more detail needed to understand the implications for rural areas, but in the meantime, Local Plan consultations are still going ahead. Local Authorities are required to prepare and maintain an up-to-date Local Plan which is designed to guide future development within their District. These consultations provide opportunities for landowners to put land forward for consideration as future housing or employment sites.

 

Not all land will be suitable and the main factors to consider include proximity to existing settlements, size of settlement, suitability of available access, flood risk, potential impact on nearby heritage assets, and presence of protected species. The promotion of land to Local Plan consultations can be a slow burn, which is something the planning bill is looking to address, but other recent changes to planning legislation have improved shorter term opportunities for development in rural areas.

 

Class Q in the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 (GDPO), for example, allows for development consisting of a change of use of an agricultural building to a use falling within Use Class C3 (dwelling houses). A further amendment to the Act increased the number of dwellings permitted from three to five.

 

Class Q signals a supportive stance from the Government to landowners with redundant buildings. This is a positive step for rural areas and offers considerable opportunity to enhance income generation from rural buildings and to add value to existing assets.

 

Class R of the GDPO also allows for a change of use from an agricultural building and land within its curtilage under PD rights, but this time to a ‘Flexible Use’ falling within various commercial Use Classes. These flexible uses include shops, financial and professional services, restaurants and cafes, offices, workshops, storage or distribution, hotels, leisure and community uses.

 

Another recent amendment to the GPDO has increased the maximum floor area of new agricultural buildings to 1,000 sqm on agricultural units of five hectares or more. The amendment also allowed for buildings on units of less than 5 hectares to be extended by up to 20%, to a maximum of 1,000 sqm. An additional benefit is that there is a substantial reduction in planning fees for applicants. For example, a 1,000 sqm building would incur a planning application fee of £3,696, whereas a prior notification for an agricultural building has a flat fee of £96.

 

These measures allow development in rural areas to come forward and can be a way of avoiding the often restrictive policies of local planning authorities and highly politicised planning committee decision making process. It will be interesting to see the detail of the planning bill and how it is interpreted by planning officers and members. Either way, there will continue to be a busy appeals process in operation.

 

A transcript of the speech in full can be viewed here

 

The background briefing note can be downloaded here

 

For further information on this and to discuss any related planning matters please contact our Head of Planning Dan Hewett

 All Articles

Blog

Canterbury City Council – Call for Sites 2021

Canterbury City Council is working on a new Local Plan which will direct development in the District until 2040. This consultation provides the opportunity for landowners and developers to submit sites for consideration to take this future growth.

 

All sites put forward will undergo a technical assessment to check whether they are suitable and deliverable. A Strategic Land Availability Assessment (SLAA) will be produced later this year listing all sites and will be used to inform decisions on which sites should be included.

 

The draft Local Plan, including submitted sites, will be published for public consultation in 2022. Further details can be viewed on the link below:

 

https://www.canterbury.gov.uk/info/20014/planning_and_building/313/new_local_plan_2040/2

 

We would be delighted to hear from you if you have land to put forward for consideration.

 

For further information on this and to discuss any related planning matters please contact our Head of Planning Dan Hewett

 All Articles

Blog

Oxford to Cambridge Expressway Project Cancelled

Construction of the Oxford to Cambridge expressway has been cancelled as analysis shows the benefits the road would deliver are outweighed by its costs.

 

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced on 18 March 2021 the cancellation of the Oxford-Cambridge (Ox-Cam) expressway, after analysis confirmed the proposed project was not cost-effective. Highways England had been developing potential options for a road link between Oxford and Milton Keynes. However, following close work with local partners since 2014, recent analysis shows that the benefits the road would deliver are outweighed by the costs associated with the project.

 

The Department for Transport (DfT) will now investigate the need for more targeted road interventions in the area, recognising the vital role that transport investment has to support sustainable growth in the region

 

The East West Rail scheme remains a firm commitment, with it seen as being key to not only improving connectivity but also bringing new jobs and opportunities to the area. In January, the government announced a £760 million funding commitment to deliver the next phase of East West Rail, which will create 1,500 skilled jobs and reinstate direct rail services between Bicester and Bletchley for the first time since 1968.

 

See link below to the Government’s full announcement from the Department for Transport and Highways England:

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/oxford-to-cambridge-expressway-project-cancelled-as-transport-secretary-looks-to-alternative-plans-for-improving-transport-in-the-region

 

For further information on this and to discuss any related planning matters please contact our Head of Planning Dan Hewett

 All Articles

Blog

Wilson Wraight welcomes Honor Eldridge to the team

We’re pleased to welcome Honor to the Wilson Wraight Planning team as our Environmental Specialist.

 

Honor has been working with clients to guide and shape agri-environmental policy over the past 10 years. Her relationships in Whitehall will help put Wilson Wraight at the forefront of potential future environmental policy developments. Given the rise of blended finance from public and private funding sources, she will also liaise with the private sector to identify and deliver commercial funding opportunities, including biodiversity net gain.

 

Her experience of working to influence environmental policy enables Wilson Wraight to provide clients with an in-house expert for projects requiring the negotiation of Biodiversity Net Gain Assessments with Local Authorities.

 

 All Articles

Blog

Planning for Sustainable Growth in the Oxford-Cambridge Arc

The Government has published a long awaited policy paper setting out the approach they intend to take to delivering the ambitious levels of growth planned for the Oxford-Cambridge Arc. The paper includes the following:

– A timeline for developing the framework,
– How they will engage communities and work with local partners, and
– The high-level scope of the framework, including the approach it will take to planning for the environment, infrastructure, economic growth, and new homes and place-making.

 

There will be the following opportunities to comment on the proposals:

  1. Vision – The Government intend to launch this process in early 2021, and will use comments from initial stakeholder engagement to produce a draft vision statement for public consultation in Summer 2021.
  2. ‘Towards a Spatial Framework’ consultation – Building on the vision, the Government will develop policy and growth options for consultation. They intend to publish a consultation document in Spring 2022.
  3. Draft Spatial Framework – A draft Spatial Framework will be published for consultation containing the Preferred Options. This is intended to be published in Autumn 2022, with the final Spatial Framework implemented shortly after.

We would be delighted to hear from you if you have land to put forward for consideration in the Local Authority areas identified on the boundary map opposite, or if you wish to make comments on its content.

 

The paper can be viewed in full on the link below:

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-for-sustainable-growth-in-the-oxford-cambridge-arc-spatial-framework

 

For further information on this and to discuss any related planning matters please contact our Head of Planning Dan Hewett

 All Articles

Blog

Barn Conversions: Good planning prospects and financial incentives for commercial development

The incentives for investing in new agricultural buildings are currently the strongest they have been since April 2009 due to the launch of the Structures and Buildings Allowance (SBA) in autumn 2018 and its enhancement in the 2020 Budget. This will support business investment in constructing new structures and buildings, and the improvement of existing ones.

 

The SBA is not specific to agriculture so it could be used to convert a former grain store into a premise for a new commercial use, strengthening the business case for investing in new agricultural buildings or alternative storage arrangements.

 

The planning system is also currently receptive to such changes of use.

 

Permitted Development rights enable farmers to change the use of up to 5,382 sqft (500 sqm) of agricultural buildings to a flexible commercial use under Class R of the Town & Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 As Amended. The commercial uses allowed are diverse and include the following:

 

  • Shops
  • Financial and professional services
  • Restaurants and cafes
  • Business
  • Storage or distribution
  • Hotels
  • Assembly and leisure

 

This is subject to a number of exclusions and certain criteria must be met:

 

  • The subject building needs to have been solely in agricultural use on the 3rd July 2012 (or when it was last in use).
  • If brought into use after 3rd July 2012, it must have been maintained in that use for a minimum of ten years.
  • The total cumulative floor area of the existing building(s) – within the planning unit – which have changed under Class R rights, must not exceed 500m².
  • The building(s) must not be:
    1. a listed building (or within the curtilage of a listed building)
    2. a scheduled monument (or part thereof)
    3. form part of (or be located within) a safety hazard area
    4. form part of an explosives storage area

 

An inspector recently granted Class R prior approval for the change of use of a barn in Cornwall to an aparthotel after deciding that the council’s concern that it amount to a rebuild rather than a conversion was incorrect.

 

The council considered that works to use the open-fronted barn, as pictured, as a hotel would be of such magnitude as to amount to a rebuild and outside the scope of permitted development rights. The inspector, however, rejected this approach, distinguishing between Class R and Class Q (Permitted change to a dwelling). In allowing the Appeal he stated that Class Q rights are for a change of use together with building operations reasonably necessary to convert the building and requires an analysis of whether a proposal would be a conversion or a rebuild, whereas Class R is concerned purely with the change of use and there is no conversion issue to consider.

 

The result is that a far greater number of structures will be suited to changes of use under this type of Permitted Development.

 

The procedure to apply under Class R varies depending upon the size of the building and we would be delighted to discuss any proposals for this type of development with you.

 

For further information on this and to discuss any related planning matters please contact our Head of Planning Dan Hewett

 All Articles

Blog

Planning for the future or back to the future?

The planning white paper (Planning for the Future) proposes significant reform to the English planning system.

 

There has rarely been a moment over the past 20 years when the planning system wasn’t going through a process of significant change. It has become the norm for it to be criticised on all sides, from the professionals trying to interpret and explain it, to the local authorities trying to apply and implement it, and to the general public who quite understandably do not have the time to get to grips with it.

 

The Covid-19 pandemic has put an even sharper focus on its many claimed pitfalls. The desire for a speedy return to economic prosperity by politicians, institutions, business owners, homeowners and anybody with a retirement plan, has put an immense amount of pressure on the need to get this planning reform right. Can this ever be achieved when ‘the system’ must mediate between so many competing demands, agendas and opinions? Can such an overhaul ever create the dramatic step change in speed of delivery needed to justify rocking the boat at such an economically sensitive moment.

 

The Government states that they are “Proposing a new system which is easier for the public to access, transforms the way communities are shaped and builds the homes this country needs. The changes will mean more good quality, attractive and affordable homes can be built faster – and more young families can have the key to their own home.”

 

Is this too much of a monumental task for a highly politicised system strangled by red tape to deliver? A brief history of recent reforms demonstrates the challenge that lies ahead. These reforms and initiatives were in part brought about as a result of the Barker Review of Housing Supply back in 2004 which commented that some of the requirements of the planning system were unnecessary and delaying the delivery of sustainable and affordable housing. And here we are again, this time it is Boris emerging from his Covid bunker shouting Build! Build! Build!

 

The planning white paper does suggest many well-intentioned reforms, all of which were kicked into the long grass of 2021, along with plans to further reform and amalgamate local authorities into some form of Regional Assembly structure…wait a minute, was that another pang of deja vu!

 

The waters were muddied further by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) who announced last month that it would backtrack on proposals to revise its method for determining local housing need following concerns that it would set unreasonably high targets for housebuilding across south-east England.

 

Instead, it said it would keep the current methodology, using the 2014-based household projections, but would add a new “cities and urban centres uplift” of 35 per cent for England’s 20 biggest urban areas. There is criticism that these largely Labour-controlled towns and cities, where the revised policy seeks to prioritise housebuilding, are affected by areas of constraint (such as Green Belt) and have already failed to meet their current housing needs. Furthermore, the current pandemic has instead increased demand for houses with private open space and immediate access to the countryside.

 

The secretary of state Robert Jenrick as a result is accused by the industry of taking a highly regressive backwards step by reverting to previous 2017 figures as the basis for housing need projections, which are widely criticised as being based on outdated 2014 household projections skewed by a demographic trend period impacted by the last financial crisis in 2009-2014.

 

It’s not clear if all (or any) of the changes in the white paper will eventually be implemented. Even if they are, it will take time for any new system to come into force. The government wants to see new local plans in place by the end of this parliament, which is in less than four years’ time. Therefore, if you’re promoting land to local plans, neighbourhood plans or considering taking proposals forward, it is vital to keep that going.

 

Are other reforms proposed? The White Paper focuses on local plans, planning applications and proposed changes to planning obligations but further reforms are likely to be consulted on in the autumn. This will be based on the governments ‘Project Speed’ initiative and will be focused on streamlining the planning process for big infrastructure projects.

 

Whilst the changes proposed by the white paper are encouraging, there doesn’t appear to be much consensus that they will come into effect in anything like the same recognisable form and that Council’s will continue to fail to maintain relevant, up to date Local Plans or deliver sufficient housing to meet their identified needs, however that is determined.

 

I will end with a quote from Boris himself:

 

“As we approach the second decade of the 21st century that potential is being artificially constrained by a relic from the middle of the 20th – our outdated and ineffective planning system. Designed and built in 1947 it has, like any building of that age, been patched up here and there over the decades. Extensions have been added on, knocked down and rebuilt according to the whims of whoever’s name is on the deeds at the time. Eight years ago, a new landlord stripped most of the asbestos from the roof. But make-do-and-mend can only last for so long and, in 2020, it is no longer fit for human habitation.”

 

Isn’t there an argument that what we need now is stability in the planning system in order to create confidence for future investment decisions. At the end of the day isn’t that what it’s all really about?

 

For further information on this and to discuss any related planning matters please contact our Head of Planning Dan Hewett