CIC welcomes government response to NPPF consultation

“The latest announcements are a step in the right direction and show government’s willingness to tackle the crisis in housing numbers. Yet they are just a small piece of the puzzle in addressing similarly pertinent challenges on affordability, quality, safety and sustainability”, said Matt Mahony, CIC Policy and Public Affairs Manager.

CIC responded to the NPPF consultation in September and backed many of its proposals. Government’s response to the consultation announced by Rayner has confirmed:

• New immediate mandatory housing targets. Areas with the highest unaffordability for housing and greatest potential for growth will see housebuilding targets increase, while stronger action will ensure councils adopt up-to-date local plans or develop new plans that work for their communities.

• Councils must review their greenbelt boundaries to meet targets, identifying and prioritising lower quality ‘grey belt’ land – though there will be a brownfield first approach.
• Strict requirements, via the new ‘golden rules’, for new developments and require developers to provide the necessary infrastructure for local communities, such as nurseries, GP surgeries and transport, as well as a premium level of social and affordable housing.
• Councils and developers to consider social rent when building new homes and local leaders have greater powers to build genuinely affordable homes for those who need them most.

Further commenting on the NPPF, Matt Mahony said:

“With new plans also announced on housebuilding skills hubs, recruitment of new planners and funding affordable housing, how these initiatives work together will determine the broader success of the UK’s housing and infrastructure plans.

We urge government to seize the opportunities to deliver happier healthier lives that can be brought by a renewed emphasis on spatial planning and ambitious standards for future homes and buildings.”

Government has made a number of recent announcements in planning alongside the NPPF and has published its first working paper for the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, confirming that planning decisions are set to be fast-tracked in a sweeping overhaul of local planning committees, as part of new measures to tackle the housing crisis. Government is also set to produce 10-year strategies for housing and infrastructure early next year alongside details of the next multi-year Affordable Homes Programme.