Dr. Sarah Hill

In the new NPPF it looks like we will have the stick. I’d like to see some carrot too. LAs should be encouraged to define the economic opportunties before them and to develop strategies which seek to capitalise on these in order to diversify, grow, transform their economies where there is tangible benefit in doing so. Examples of ‘postive planning’ have become few and far between in a world where doing the bare minimum has been accepted. This mindset needs to be challenged.

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How can the presumption be strengthened with clarity? This blog is not as random as advertised...

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The eagle has landed, some quick observations: Outcome of the proposed #revisedmethod for calculating annual #housingneed in some of our key areas: #SouthWest #Bristol 3,378 to 3,057 (-321) [current 10.5k unmet need] #BANES 717 to 1,466 (+749) #NorthSomerset 1,324 to 1,587 (+263) #SouthGloucestershire 1,317 to 1,717 (+400) #Swindon 1,005 to 1,252 (+247) #Wiltshire 1,917 to 3,476 (+1,559) #MidDevon 346 to 571 (+225) #ThamesValley #Wokingham 748 to 1,308 (+560) #Reading 878 to 1,023 (+145) #WestBerkshire 495 to 1,057 (+562) #WestOxfordshire 549 to 889 (+340) #ValeofWhiteHorse 633 to 937 (+304) #SouthOxfordshire 579 to 1,179 (+600) #Oxford 762 to 1,051 (+289) #Cherwell 706 to 1,095 (+389) #BasingstokeandDeane 828 to 1,137 (+309) #TestValley 524 to 921 (+397) So, more homes required then but is this aided by the #proposedreforms to the #NPPF? In relation to the #GreenBelt (a common theme with those listed above) Paragraph 142 of the NPPF states that where an authority cannot meet its identified need, a review of the Green Belt and proposed alterations are required to meet these needs in full. ✅ Are there any other allowances for Green Belt development outside of plan preparation or review? Yes, Paragraph 152 states that development in the Green Belt should not be regarded as inappropriate where a) its #greybelt, b) the LPA cannot demonstrate a #fiveyearsupply and c) development meets the requirements of Paragraph 155 (50% AH provision, infrastructure improvements and new or improved green spaces). Is #greybelt defined? Yes:  "For the purposes of plan-making and decision-making, ‘grey belt’ is defined as land in the green belt comprising Previously Developed Land and any other parcels and/or areas of Green Belt land that make a limited contribution to the five Green Belt purposes (as defined in para 140 of this Framework), but excluding those areas or assets of particular importance listed in footnote 7 of this Framework." Is 'limited contribution' defined? Unfortunately not. Any mention of #nutrientneutrality (another common theme with those above)? Nothing yet. Anything else? Paragraph 11d) now only requires policies 'for the supply of land' (see footnote 8) to be out of date to engage the #presumption, rather than those 'most important for determining an application'. Paragraph 69 includes reference to the benefits of mixed tenure sites, which includes #laterliving tenures. Lots to discuss, and no doubt it will be throughout the consultation period, which ends on 24 September 2024. Marrons https://lnkd.in/e8Kye4vQ

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With speeches and commentary regarding planning coming in thick and fast in the national press, we are today releasing our new paper, “From Scarcity to Stability: Planning for the Future of Housing” calling for immediate changes to the planning system following Labour’s win. Housebuilding has consistently fallen below annual targets and house prices in England have grown an average of 6% annually over the last 30 years. Meanwhile the number of households on local authority waiting lists in England has grown by 14% between 2018-2023. In our paper we outline our recommendations for the short term, with immediate changes that could deliver instant improvements in the first 100 days, as well as longer-term recommendations that will positively shape the future of UK housing stock. In that regard we propose a new National Strategy for Housing in England that dovetails with industrial and infrastructure strategies. Please do have a read and let us know your thoughts – I hope that much of it will resonate with our clients and fellow consultants and peers, as well as the general public who like many of us must have got tired of the continual tinkering of the planning system during the past government. Inaction is simply not an option when it comes to the housing crisis. There is a very real imperative for planning to be seen as an agent for positive change.

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The opportunity to respond to the Government’s NPPF consultation has been a chance to reflect in depth on the targeted intervention needed to tackle the issues the country faces. We’ve drawn on teams across Stantec’s many specialisms to highlight the positives in the draft, identify potential unintended consequences, and suggest improvements. We have summarised the key points from our response in a letter to the Secretary of State herself, to focus down on the low hanging fruit and more fundamental changes that will help us address the housing crisis, de-risk planning, spur investment and economic growth, and support the net zero transition. The article below gives an overview of our suggestions, and if you would like to read our response in full or discuss aspects further with our experts, please get in touch. #NPPF #planningreforms #housing #infrastructure #sustainability #greybelt #localplans Stantec https://ow.ly/yVcr50TzlLH

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Preparation of local plans   The requirement for up-to-date plans to be adopted and for plans to be reviewed every five years remains are unchanged. The Government has not set a deadline for local authorities to adopt up-to-date plans but is also consulting on, and may legislate for, additional powers and guidance for Secretary of State intervention. There are no new ‘carrots’ but a couple of familiar looking sticks being waved about. The consultation proposes to reintroduce a requirement for all authorities to maintain a sufficient five year housing land supply irrespective of the age of their local plans. Similarly, the consultation returns to higher thresholds for monitoring past delivery rates through the Housing Delivery Test (HDT).   The increased likelihood of planning applications for unallocated sites being submitted and approved, more often at appeal, in many cases has not been sufficient incentive for some authorities to review and update their plans. It remains to be seen whether the proposed updates to the NPPF will achieve the long-held objective of increasing plan making activity and, ultimately, a plan-led approach to development.   Transitional arrangements   There will be local planning authorities approaching or at Regulation 19 stage that will be looking hard at the transitional arrangements, potentially having to explore whether submission can be squeezed in before the cut-off for the new NPPF and, in some cases, the much high Standard Method figures released yesterday being applied. This will come as an even bigger set back to those that may need to undertake a further Regulation 18 consultation due to increased numbers necessitating additional sites.    Whilst there may be some delays resulting from the consultation, the Government is rightly committed to implementing the new Framework and helping to kickstart delivery as quickly as possible. Those authorities seeking (and potentially able) to get ahead of the new Framework and LHN figures with proposed housing requirements lower may require the Government and/or Planning Inspectorate to intervene. This appears to be a bigger risk where such authorities will have completed Regulation 19 and submission comes before the transitional arrangement cut-off (date of the NPPF update + 1 month). Please get in contact with colleagues at Stantec if you want to discuss the implications of the proposed changes for the promotion of your land. #NPPF #takingthebrakesoff #localplans

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In a recent CLA round table discussion with a group of rural planners, Permission in Principle was touched upon. It became clear that across the group it was an area of limited direct experience. Not a surprise when Government statistics suggest only 148 applications for PiP were decided in quarter 1 of 2024, compared to over 10,000 minor residential applications, just over 1%.   The Permission in Principle consent route is an alternative way of obtaining planning permission for housing-led development which separates the consideration of matters of principle for proposed development from the technical detail of the development. It was introduced in 2017 as a way of speeding up the planning delivery of small residential sites and help boost the delivery of housing. It can be a particularly useful tool in smaller, rural settlements, where residential schemes will often fall under the site / development thresholds.   In a timely coincidence following the CLA event, my week ended with an appeal allowed for a 3-4 house PiP scheme in the Green Belt in Lancashire. The original application had been refused by the LPA due to their application of the ‘infill within villages’ exception in Green Belt policy against their local plan settlement hierarchy. The Inspector agreed with the case we presented that the Framework does not specify what size a village must be, whether a settlement must be defined as a village in a local plan, or whether a site must be within a defined settlement boundary, for Paragraph 154 to apply. She went on to find the settlement was a village, that the site lay within it, and therefore the proposals would not be inappropriate development in the Green Belt, complying with paragraph 154 of the Framework. And so acceptable in principle.   This proposal could equally have been advanced via an outline or a full planning application route, but the advantage of using the PiP route includes a shorter time frame for determination (5 weeks) and significantly lower costs for the landowner to secure an agreement to the principle of development before incurring the time and costs of preparing the ever growing list of technical reports and surveys required to support even an outline application these days! PiP consideration is limited to just three matters; those of location, land use and amount. The technical and design details are deferred until a second stage application (‘technical details consent’). A bit like the ‘outline’ and ‘reserved matters’ application, but with the burden of work switched to the 2nd application, giving the site owner comfort that in principle the development is acceptable, before they invest in the detailed design process.   I'd be interested in people's thoughts on why we don’t see more use of the PiP route? Rural Solutions #PlanninginPrinciple #RuralPlanning #RuralHousing

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#Walesplan24 #RTPICymru Wales Planning Conference breakout sessions covered wide-ranging topics in the hope of providing something of interest to everyone. Jonathan Cawley led a session on sustainable tourism, which considered the car-use impacts of tourism on Eryri National Park and ways of addressing the local impact vs the risks of deterring visitors who opt for foreign holidays with a worse carbon footprint and no local economic benefit. Improved rail park and ride offers one opportunity. #FrancisTaylorBuilding provided a valuable update on relevant case law, including Finch, a ruling that emerged this morning. I'm always in awe of the brain capacity of barristers to absorb brand new information. Lindsay Christian and Amy Longford led a discussion on decarbonising Wales' 30000 Listed Buildings and other heritage buildings, recognising the importance of keeping buildings in use to preserve heritage assets. "There's always something you CAN do". And linking back to housing delivery, how can we align reuse of town centre heritage buildings for affordable housing with flexibility regarding WHQS to access funding. Nick Bennett and Rebecca Williams spoke about the economic benefits of decarbonisation in terms of direct and indirect job creation and investment.

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"Women and Gulf Cities. The transformative impact of women influencing the architectural and urban developments of the gulf region." I am delighted to announce the publication of this special issue of Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, with my co-editors Dr. Daniela Ottmann and Dr. Adina Hempel, who, like myself, were involved for many years with women and urbanisation in the Gulf region. It is a pleasure to be invited to collaborate with these trusted and dedicated colleagues as a co-editor, and to work with all the authors and contributers. This publication is an outcome of a workshop led by Dr. Ottman and Dr. Hempel at the Gulf Research Center - مركز الخليج للأبحاث Meeting at University of Cambridge in 2022. A special thanks to Ashraf M. Salama and his team at Archnet for their support for the publication and to all the peer reviewers. This special issue encapsulates various contemporary research, insights and perspectives. These contributions adress critical issues, advocating for inclusivity within cultural means, and celebrating women's achievements. The various approaches presented highlight women's roles in urban projects across different dimensions – as practitioners, visionary leaders, commissioners of urban projects, researchers, policymakers and educators. Case studies and analyses of national and/or international policies and frameworks underscore the significance of a multi-pronged approach to research. From focused ethnographic material research on architectural objects to urban master plans and international frameworks for gender mainstreaming, the papers underscore the importance of integrating multiple scales, from micro-cultures to urban parks and historic neighbourhoods. I am particularly proud of the contribution by the yound Ruben Chung , who has just begun his studies at Brown University, and who has a keen interest in diversity and inclusive Urbanisation in the region and worldwide. Gender-inclusive urban planning: European frameworks as a potential methodology for Arabian Gulf urban parks I also contributed a paper with Maryam Alfaraidy on “Women, Sustainable Development and Heritage Regeneration in Qatar and Bahrain” which discusses two projects in the region that have been led by women and that were recognized by the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. https://lnkd.in/eXM6VwiT #womensempowerment #mentoring #gulfcities #regeneration #womenandcities #education #research #genderinclusiveness #citiesforall #participativeurbanism

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Buried beneath headlines of 'grey belts' and LPA housing targets in Labour's Draft NPPF were a number of updates regarding economic planning. Chief amongst them, a requirement for planning policy to identify sites to deliver laboratories, gigafactories, data centres and other forms of infrastructure to develop a 'modern' economy. This is followed by other references to planning policies which seek to modernise the economy and upgrade infrastructure. This is another early indication of the new Government's intent to upgrade the productive capacity of the economy. It will also no doubt result in some new and interesting wrinkles when preparing future employment need evidence bases. Which forms of infrastructure will be required to support local growth industries, and will greater inter-authority collaboration be needed to deliver the right infrastructure in the right places? Further details on the changes to the NPPF are summarised in this blog by my colleagues Seán Farrissey and Paddy Hynes: https://lnkd.in/egTUXufA

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A new book addresses spatial boundaries as places where social and political conditions are intensified and where new spatial practices of architectural resistance arise. Architectures of Resistance: Negotiating Borders Through Spatial Practices is co-edited by Nishat Awan, Professor of Architecture & Visual Culture at UCL Urban Laboratory, and contributors include The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL's Associate Professor and Co-Director of Ethics, Mohamad Hafeda. Moving across contemporary, historical, and speculative conditions of borders, the volume discusses new and innovative forms of architectural, artistic, and political practice that facilitate constructive human interaction. Architectures of Resistance is published by Leuven University Press and available now. Find out more and purchase Architectures of Resistance: https://lnkd.in/ebXkNMYS

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A new book addresses spatial boundaries as places where social and political conditions are intensified and where new spatial practices of architectural resistance arise. Architectures of Resistance: Negotiating Borders Through Spatial Practices is co-edited by Nishat Awan, Professor of Architecture & Visual Culture at UCL Urban Laboratory, and contributors include The Bartlett School of Architecture's Associate Professor and Co-Director of Ethics, Mohamad Hafeda. Moving across contemporary, historical, and speculative conditions of borders, the volume discusses new and innovative forms of architectural, artistic, and political practice that facilitate constructive human interaction. Architectures of Resistance is published by Leuven University Press and available now. Find out more and purchase Architectures of Resistance: https://lnkd.in/ebXkNMYS

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We had a really good meeting of the Policy Forum of the POS (Planning Officers Society) 🏳️‍🌈 this morning. We discussed and debated our response to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF ). Important to give a public sector perspective on this critical policy document and the future direction of planning reform. The consultation response to the NPPF when finalised can be found with POS responses to previous consultations and its planning manifestos here: https://lnkd.in/d7GRsj9N #publicsectormatters #planningpolicy

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A timely report by Public First, which has been commissioned by the Royal Town Planning Institute has revealed that planning reform and increased housing development could miss out on over £70 billion in additional value by not investing in planning. Given the prominence of planning in the recent King’s speech the report is a prescient reminder of the value of good planning. The report states if the underinvestment in the profession continues, there could be missed opportunities for a "planning premium." This premium refers to the characteristics that contribute to the development of vibrant and safe communities, and it could provide an additional value of just under £50 billion over a ten-year period. Details of the report can be found at: https://lnkd.in/ewv74ykr #publicsectormatters #planning #placemaking

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It was a pleasure to share our work and thinking on Sustainable Urban Models during yesterday’s The Royal Architectural Institute Of Canada | L'Institut royal d'architecture du Canada webinar. Applying principles and insights from Farrells 30+ years’ experience of high-density transit urbanism to inform multi-faceted discussion on sustainability, land economics, evolving patterns of human occupation, emerging technologies, future mobility trends and the challenge of humanizing density. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Bahar Namaki Araghi, PhD, P.Eng. from Arup, who co-presented and shared valuable insights into emerging mobility trends, which will play a critical role in future city making and urban experience. Here in British Columbia, Canada, this topic is especially relevant given recent provincial legislation that designates 52 new Transit-Oriented Development Areas (TOAs). This, alongside the demand for housing (with the Housing Supply Act setting specific targets for each municipality), ongoing regional transit expansion and the search more sustainable ways of living - means that much of the upcoming work for architects and construction design professionals is likely to occur within the scope of higher density transit-oriented city making. Will this evolving form of urbanism lead to a self-similar soulless city and act to enhance existing societal problems OR can it be a driver of positive sustainable change, meaningfully embracing reconciliation efforts and creating a rich tapestry of unique and varied neighbourhoods and resilient communities? #Farrells #Arup #Placemaking #Urbansim #Mobility

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Just out in this issue of Town and Country Planning, we reflect on serial reforms and the purpose of planning. Only a small topic then... Royal Town Planning Institute Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

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New draft NPPF published today! Some interesting changes proposed here, including some sensible ideas about development in the Green Belt. Be interesting to see which changes survive the consultation and emerge in the new published version, expected by the end of the year. #NPPF #ruralplanning Rural Solutions

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