Welcome to the November planning update from the Bristol and Cardiff Planning teams. Please click on the links below to obtain further information on the identified topics.

1. Beckett takes over housing after Government reshuffle
In Gordon Brown's recent Government reshuffle, Margaret Beckett has been appointed to the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) as Minister of State for Housing, replacing Caroline Flint who has been appointed Europe Minister.

2. Amendments to the Planning Bill
The Government has extended the grounds on which it could intervene in decisions made by the proposed Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC).

3. Eco-towns a 'hope' rather than a target
According to newly appointed Housing Minister, Margaret Beckett, the Government's plans to build ten eco-towns by 2020 is now a 'hope' rather than a target.

4. Rural Housing Consultation launched
On 8 October 2008, the Government published a consultation paper on new powers to boost the number of affordable homes in rural communities.

5. Publication of Detailed Guidance on Propriety Issues
On 6 October 2008 the Government published new detailed guidance on the propriety issues surrounding the exercise of the Secretary of State's decision making-functions in individual planning cases, regional spatial strategies and local development documents.

1. Beckett takes over housing after Government reshuffle

In Gordon Brown's recent Government reshuffle, Margaret Beckett has been appointed to the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) as Minister of State for Housing, replacing Caroline Flint who has been appointed Europe Minister.

Margaret Beckett commented 'I am very pleased to be taking forward this important agenda. My priority will be to help overcome the challenges in the housing market caused by the current global turbulence, whilst maintaining our focus on delivering the affordable homes needed to meet long-term demand.'

In addition, the Prime Minister has created a new department for Energy & Climate Change, headed by Ed Miliband, which is to take over responsibilities for cutting UK carbon emissions. This department will take on the energy and climate change policy responsibilities that were previously held by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Defra. It will handle the consents regime for new power stations and oil and gas industry licensing, in addition to formulating policy on heat, energy efficiency, coal, nuclear, combined heat and power and community heating.

The reshuffle has also brought new ministers into the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Jane Kennedy has been appointed Environment Minister, replacing Phil Woolas, with responsibilities including flooding, waste/recycling, coastal erosion and the Environment Agency. She is joined at the Department by Huw Irranca-Davies, who will be responsible for land management, national parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Natural England, forestry, soil and sustainable rural communities.

Read the full Communities and Local Government news release here.

Read the full list of Government here.

For further details contact David Cliff +44 (0) 117 910 0303

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2. Amendments to the Planning Bill

The Government has extended the grounds on which it could intervene in decisions made by the proposed Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC).

A Government amendment to the Planning Bill has been agreed by the House of Lords which provides the Secretary of State with a power to prescribe further grounds on which she may intervene if the IPC is not working as intended after being in operation for two years.

Communities secretary Hazel Blears agreed during the Bill's passage through the Commons that a review would be conducted into the IPC's performance after two years. The power, under Clause 108, will be subject to a debate and vote in both houses before it can be used.

Baroness Andrews, who is leading the Bill in the Lords, said:

'We believe that the IPC will work well because of the robust framework provided by the Bill. However, if the review reveals problems then this power would enable us to act.'

Meanwhile, proposals for local member review boards have been formally dropped from the Bill following a heavy campaign against them from a range of groups including the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). The Government had already indicated that it would scrap the plans in the House of Commons.

For further details contact Will Spencer +44 (0) 117 910 0331

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3. Eco-towns a 'hope' rather than a target

According to newly appointed Housing Minister, Margaret Beckett, the Government's plans to build ten eco-towns by 2020 is now a 'hope' rather than a target.

The comments came at a recent Commons Select Committee in response to newspaper reports that the DCLG had concluded that 'only one or two' of the 15 short listed projects are genuinely viable.

Beckett also referred to the Government's target of building three million homes by 2020 as an ambition.

'We are only at the first stage of consultation. We have had a substantial response and we are continuing with the hope that we will be able to identify ten (sites) at a later stage,' she stated.

When asked if government is sticking to its pledge to increase house building to 240,000 homes a year by 2016, she replied: 'I think the most challenging of the targets was the three million, but that was an ambition actually, rather than a target. The target was the figure for 2016 and that is something we will have to see how we can address.'

The incoming Minister said there were 'no plans at the present time to scrap the target'. A spokesman from the DCLG further commented that the eco-town programme would remain on track stating that 'the extra homes of eco-towns are still needed, and the challenge of climate change is not going to fade, irrespective of economic conditions. We have consistently said we are looking to build up to 10 eco-towns and have made clear that we will shortlist up to 10 potential locations by early next year'.

In related news, the green development pioneers BioRegional and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) have published the report What makes an eco-town. The report defines eco-towns as places which aid a reduction in residents' ecological carbon footprint by two thirds and their carbon emissions by 80%. It also proposes that all new housing within an eco-town should meet the Building for Life Gold standard, with housing densities of between 50 and 100 dwellings per hectare in the town centre, and between 50 to 65 dwellings per hectare along transport corridors.

"What makes an eco-town" can be accessed here.

For further details contact Will Spencer +44 (0) 117 910 0331

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4. Rural housing consultation launched

On 8 October 2008, the Government published a consultation paper on new powers to boost the number of affordable homes in rural communities.

According to the paper "Shared Ownership and Leasehold Enfranchisement and Designation of 'Protected' Areas", communities with severe housing shortages could be designated as protected areas, retaining affordable housing for local families.

The new proposals also enable affordable housing providers in these protected areas, to have the first option to buy the property back, or retain a share in new shared ownership homes, ensuring they remain available for the local community.

Further to this, first-time buyers may be able to purchase a home for £60,000 through a consultation to expand Community Land trusts (CLTs), enabling them to pay only for the building, not the land of the property. The consultation document "Community Land Trust: Making It Happen" sets out Government policies on the regulation of financial support for and access to social rented and affordable housing provided with public subsidy.

The consultation document Shared Ownership and Leasehold Enfranchisement and Designation of 'Protected' Areas can be viewed here.

The consultation document Community Land Trust: Making It Happen can be viewed here.

For further details contact Dan Yeates +44 (0) 1179 100 336

5. Publication of detailed guidance on propriety issues

On 6 October 2008 the Government published new detailed guidance on the propriety issues surrounding the exercise of the Secretary of State's decision making-functions in individual planning cases, regional spatial strategies and local development documents.

The Guidance states 'the objective is to ensure that decisions are properly taken and to avoid, as far as possible, the risk of successful legal challenge of decisions'. The guidance clarifies that a planning Minister 'should not discuss a planning case with any interested party to a decision. This advice applies, in particular, to decisions on recovered planning appeals and called-in planning applications'.

The advice states that Ministers should decline requests for meetings from

'MPs, delegations of local people, parties to an appeal or a called-in application, pressure groups or any other party who may wish to make representation about a particular planning matter. The same principle applies to other forms of contact with interested parties, including telephone calls'.

In respect of their role as a constituency MP, the Guidance states that

'planning Ministers are not precluded from making representations on matters affecting their constituents' interests. But they must make clear that they are acting as their constituents' representative and expressly not as a planning minister, and that they will not take any part in any subsequent decision on the matter'.

The document Guidance on Planning Propriety Issues can be viewed here.

For further information please contact David Cliff +44 (0) 1179 100 303

Please do not hesitate to contact any of the individuals identified or us for further information.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Geraint John - Director
+44 (0) 2920 368 914
gjohn@savills.com

Nick Matthews - Associate Director         
+44 (0) 117 910 0370
nmatthews@savills.com

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