What an extraordinary time we are living in. Even the best planners on the planet could not have predicted the events of 2020; unless of course they had watched Contagion. So what is the direction of travel now?
I think that things, as they so often do, fall into short, medium, and long-term actions.
In the short term, the government needs to continue to keep under review those planning issues that need to be addressed to deal with the here and now. It was appropriate, for example, to empower virtual planning committee meetings; to review permitted development rights for pubs; and to commit to review community infrastructure levy and section 106 obligations. The guidance issued makes it pretty clear that a pragmatic and practical approach is necessary at times and much can be agreed without regulatory change. I suspect that quite a lot of these sort of changes will embed and become part of the system going forward, rather than a mere short-term fix; and there is merit in some of this.
Much more needed
But even so there are things (at the time of writing) that the government still needs to do rather than just “listen“ to – the extension of permission times and the compliance with some conditions are matters that need action now.
In the medium term, we need some wise words on the local housing need methodology and the housing delivery test. Both are issues looming towards the end of this year, and they will have significant implications for plan-making examinations, determination of applications and deciding appeals.
Longer term, the current situation gives rise to a number of interesting questions. Some of the outcomes of the past few months have been notably positive. Less traffic on the roads has done wonders for air quality and some broader climate change goals, and there is an understandable view that, in seeking a return to normal, or “new normal” as the saying goes, we should not be planning to go back to things as they were. Rather, we should seek to bank the improvements and new behaviours, and embed them into our thinking. This goes beyond wider footpaths and extended cycleways. The opportunities to work at home and shop locally has meant more walking and cycling, and this is reflected in the healthier environment and potentially healthier people too.
Rethinking space
But as we ponder the tip of this particular iceberg, it is clear that much more lies beneath. How do local plan policies stand up to scrutiny now that we need to seriously reconsider our lifestyles? Are the houses we build currently designed to facilitate homeworking? I have seen enough box rooms, backrooms, attics, conservatories and even gardens on Zoom/Microsoft Teams meetings to know this is an issue. Will we still need the “old“ office space we planned for? Should we reallocate and convert some of it to housing (preferably not under PDR)?
What are the consequences for the placemaking agenda the government wants to set? Already there is anecdotal evidence that housebuyers are seeking bigger gardens and more private space having experienced the lockdown. Developers looking to build higher densities may well need to reconsider greening their development and having less reliance on existing parks and open spaces.
The separation of land allocated for “residential” and “town centre” may need to change, and this might well be a good thing, as more flexible and mixed economies emerge. This could be an opportunity to reinvigorate the high street in a way that no amount of deregulating the use class order in relaxing PDR could ever achieve.
Indeed, I would urge some long-term thinking here; planning if you will. For short-term, deregulation may seem an attractive option to kick-start the economy post-Covid-19, but the social consequences may be of the sort that come back to haunt future communities.
No doubt we all want to get our lives back to something like we used to enjoy, but these are some of the issues we cannot ignore.
Smashing the system?
It is interesting to note the government has announced an in-principle review of the planning system at this time (some might say this would have been better done in 2010 rather than removing the regional plank of the 2004 system which has never quite been replaced; or indeed that the 2004 system was only just bedding down – patience and politics are not good bedfellows, but that’s for another day).
I think there is a legitimate question as to whether now is a good time for such a review. What with the need to get the post-Covid-19 economy on its feet again, and deal with Brexit (remember that), any review of planning could have a chilling effect on the existing system. People may stop preparing plans, working up schemes and submitting applications, awaiting the new dawn.
Don’t get me wrong – I am not saying the existing system is perfect, and I think there are many ways to improve and speed up the current process. A review is not a commitment to change after all.
Suffice to say that we should all think carefully about what we want to achieve. The current system allows for zoning, and the appetite among some for new zoning could well result in a system that is every bit as bureaucratic, time-consuming and mired in the legal system as the one they think they are stuck in now.
But this way lies the future – be alert!
Steve Quartermain CBE is a consultant at Town Legal
