With the ink barely dry on the Housing and Planning Act, the government did not waste time bringing in a new bill when it announced the National Planning and Infrastructure Bill as part of the Queen’s Speech.
With one bill enacted and the details of the new one yet to be published, now is a good time to consider what this raft of new legislation means for real estate.
Let us start with the Housing and Planning Act. The most seismic change was the reclassification of starter homes as affordable housing. This is a change that will have an impact on all major development projects. The government took its time in laying out the details of the starter homes policy, so there is some relief that we now have some certainty over how it will work.
The mooted exemption from the requirement for build-to-rent developers is welcome, and a boost for a sector that has suffered policy setbacks.
Measures to help relieve the pressure on under-resourced local authorities were also included within the act, which we are looking forward to seeing in action soon. Permission in principle for brownfield sites is similarly welcome, although we hope that it does not neglect other forms of development.
But what about this new bill? How will it affect our industry and will it be conducive to bringing forward new development that drives economic growth and regenerates the built environment?
The BPF has long been a proponent of neighbourhood planning, which enables communities to engage proactively with sustainable development in their areas. That government plans to use the bill to strengthen this process is very encouraging.
Plans to make the CPO process ‘clearer, fairer and faster’ and to reduce the use of pre-commencement planning conditions are also good news, and should help over-burdened local authorities while encouraging speedy delivery
of infrastructure projects.
What is most welcome is that this bill shows the government really understands the relationship between development and infrastructure. Without one, the other cannot exist.
Infrastructure is a topic that has repeatedly come up when the BPF speaks to its regional committees. UK city regions are hoping that increased devolution will lead to more decisions over local infrastructure projects, which will act as a catalyst for investment.
Infrastructure projects such as Manchester Airport are proof of this, and we expect infrastructure to be a hot topic at the International Festival of Business in Liverpool in two weeks.
That the National Infrastructure Commission will be established on a statutory basis is further indication of the government’s commitment to this cause. We know that the chancellor has a vested interest in infrastructure, given that the success of his Northern Powerhouse agenda will, to an extent, rest on the delivery of ambitious projects.
Infrastructure is an important catalyst for delivering many government objectives. The new bill holds enormous potential.
Melanie Leech is chief executive of British Property Federation
