Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a number of measures within the Autumn Statement which aim to ‘unlock’ the delivery of thousands of homes and help clear ‘planning backlogs’. The key takeaways from the statement have been summarised by our Planning Team.
The Chancellor has pledged to allocate an additional £32 million across housing and planning to boost housing supply and unlock thousands of homes across the Country. This includes additional funding to tackle planning backlogs in Local Planning Authorities (LPA).
In addition, Hunt’s statement also included £110m in funding for schemes to offset nutrient neutrality, and £2 million to address water scarcity in Cambridge.
It was stated that the Government will be consulting on a new permitted development right ‘to allow any house to be converted into two flats, provided the exterior remains unaffected’.
A new premium planning service has been announced, which is to be introduced next year. The premium service guarantees accelerated decision dates for major applications and fee refunds where these are not met.
The Treasury said it would invest £5 million “to incentivise greater use of local development orders (LDOs) in England, to end delays for businesses so that key commercial projects secure planning permission faster”. LDOs pre-grant planning permission for certain developments in specified areas, which means investors and businesses may benefit from a more streamlined process.
What does our planning team make of the changes?
Nutrient and Water Neutrality is holding up a number of schemes that we are currently seeking to progress. We have been advocating for the Government to address this issue for a long time and are pleased to see that the problem is recognised and government are invested in resolving it.
We eagerly await further information in relation to how the allocated funding will tackle LPA backlogs, but are delighted to see Hunt’s commitment to speed up the system from next year.
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