KICK START FOR STALLED HOUSING DEVELOPMENT / parliamentary information office
KICK START
FOR STALLED HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
The Parliamentary Yearbook is currently gathering news items for major
features on housing and regeneration
and its impact in the current economic climate and has been monitoring
progress of the consultation process following the publication of the
Government’s Housing Strategy “Laying the Foundations: A Housing Strategy for
England” in November last year
Expert brokers will spearhead a fresh
drive to get stalled housing deals up and running and builders back on
moth-balled sites, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles announced yesterday.
Glenigan Data, March 2012, estimates
that there are currently 1,400 housing schemes of over 10 housing units with
planning permission that are stalled.
Mr Pickles is concerned that too much
development is being stalled because of economically unrealistic agreements
negotiated between councils and developers at the height of the housing boom.
This results in no development, no regeneration and no community benefits at
all when agreements are no longer economically viable.
The deals, known legally as Section 106
agreements, require developers to make a financial contribution to the
community or provide housing, amenities or infrastructure as part of their planning
permission.
Teams of intermediaries will now offer
a free-of-charge advice and support service to councils and developers and will
be available to help kick-start renegotiations of these deals to stop them
being a barrier to getting building underway.
Brokers will begin work immediately
with an initial wave of councils that are keen to address obstacles that are
preventing development in their area before working with other councils around
the country. The experts will:
·
provide technical expertise to unlock negotiations
·
act as go-betweens in disputes
·
offer access to a range of support services.
The Government is today also launching
a consultation that proposes giving developers the option to ask councils to
renegotiate Section 106 obligations if they were agreed prior to April 2010.
Currently these obligations cannot be renegotiated for five years once a
council refuses a request for voluntary renegotiation by a developer.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles
said:
"Tackling problems with stalled development
is essential to getting builders back on moth-balled sites and building the
homes we need. There is huge potential in sites to boost local economies and we
simply cannot afford to have them lying idle because of earlier agreements that
are no longer viable.
"The support and advice the expert
brokers will offer is one of the many measures we have introduced to get
development underway and I hope councils grab this chance to make use of the
support we are offering.
"Our reforms to the planning system
are already cutting planning red tape and making the system simpler and more
accessible to communities and businesses. And further changes we're introducing
will simplify national planning policy even more and streamline the planning
application process."
Councils in Leeds, Ipswich, Corby,
Swindon, Ashford, Gloucester, Kirklees, Carlisle, Northumberland and Durham
will the first to benefit from the support offered by the expert brokers and
will identify key stalled sites they want to see back up and running.
And opening up the renegotiation
process further will provide another new opportunity to help get developments
back on track, provide affordable housing and bring wider benefits for
communities.
Ministers are clear that any
renegotiations of Section 106 agreements will not remove the developer's
obligation to provide critical infrastructure or other contributions to offset
the effects of the development, and they should not result in land banking.
Deals need to be realistic and
deliverable and will take commitment from both councils and developers to
ensure they are delivered swiftly. And councils need to ensure they continue to
consider local decision making processes when agreeing new deals.
Teams of expert brokers, along with
officials from the Department and the Homes and Communities Agency will join
together to work with the councils.
Pat Ritchie, chief executive of the
Homes and Communities Agency, said:
"As a sector we need to see as
many stalled sites as possible unlocked to deliver much needed new homes. We
are currently using our investment to do this through Get Britain Building,
while our support in unlocking large projects in the planning system - through
our ATLAS team - is highly valued by local authorities and the private sector.
"So where sites are stalled
because of agreements signed under very different economic conditions, we will
work with councils to help see how we can get them moving again while meeting
the needs and priorities of local communities."
It is estimated that there are
currently more than 1,400 housing schemes of more than 10 housing units with
planning permission that are stalled and unblocking these developments is a key
part of the Government's Housing Strategy.
The support and advice being offered to
councils is just one of a number of measures the Government is taking to help
boost development. The £570 million Get Britain Building fund is tackling the
housing shortage and creating jobs and the £770 million Growing Places Fund is
providing local areas with flexible funding to get the infrastructure built
needed to build new homes.
Today's announcement is a key step in
encouraging all local authorities to consider renegotiating Section 106
agreements where development has stalled.
In March 2011, the chief planning
officer wrote to planning authorities asking them to review agreements. The new
National Planning Policy Framework requires councils to take account of market
conditions and be sufficiently flexible to prevent development being stalled.
The Parliamentary
Yearbook will continue to report on construction and housing issues and their
impact on the UK and Europe as we go through the months ahead. Construction is
a crucial sector for the UK and European economy, generating almost 10% of EU
GDP and providing 20 million jobs, mainly in micro and small enterprises.
Competitiveness in the construction sector can significantly influence the
development of the overall economy.
14th August 2012
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