GORDON BROWN is preparing to sweep aside planning controls in villages and
market towns to allow the biggest rural housebuilding programme for a
generation.
Local authorities are to be controversially ordered to adopt a relaxed
approach to the building of new homes in areas where planning permission has
traditionally been refused.
The government has concluded that protecting the environment should no longer
be the overriding consideration when decisions are made about whether to
allow development in areas where locals are struggling to afford homes.
Under reforms expected to be unveiled this month, councils will be told to:
¤ earmark new building sites in every village and hamlet where affordable
housing is needed
¤ use sweeping powers to overrule normal planning curbs in protected areas
¤ provide incentives for farmers to sell land to developers
¤ create a generation of new communities on the outskirts of market towns,
similar to Poundbury, the Prince of Wales’s “model village”.
The changes are aimed at helping the government to achieve its target of
building 3m new homes by 2020. All the main political parties agree that the
extra housing is needed, although the building programme is likely to be
delayed by the recession.
About 16,000 small towns, villages and hamlets across England, and dozens of
market towns, could be affected by what is being described by ministers as a
“fundamental shake-up” of rural planning policy.
The changes follow a government-commissioned investigation into housing
shortages in the English countryside by Matthew Taylor, a Liberal Democrat
MP.
His report, published last year, was fiercely critical of “restrictive”
planning policies in the countryside, which he believes are turning many
villages in the most sought after areas of the countryside into exclusive
enclaves of the rich and retired, as locals are priced out. In areas such as
Teignbridge, Devon, characterised by “chocolate box villages”, average house
prices are 13.5 times the average income.
Taylor said councils should be encouraged to use existing powers to grant
exceptional permission to build affordable housing in villages. The homes
would have covenants so they could be sold only to local workers and their
prices would be capped so they would remain affordable.
Taylor also attacked the burgeoning number of faceless housing estates on the
fringes of market towns, saying local authorities should instead encourage
the development of small communities, such as Poundbury, on the outskirts of
market towns.
Margaret Beckett, the housing secretary, is ready to back Taylor’s key
recommendations. Local planning officers will be told that villagers must
support new housing in their area. There will be a strong government
emphasis on “sensitive” development, typically involving a small number of
new properties in each location.
Beckett held a private meeting with Taylor before Christmas at which she
expressed strong support for the measures. Her department yesterday
confirmed that an announcement is imminent.
A Whitehall source said: “We are ready to act on the thrust of Taylor’s
recommendations. Our view is that he is on the money.
“Of course it will be controversial but it’s not something we have cooked up.
It’s something people in the countryside have long been calling for.”
While some villagers will be concerned about the potential impact of new
building on their doorstep, countryside protection groups are broadly
supportive of Taylor’s recommendations. However, they have urged caution,
warning that significant relaxation of planning curbs is unlikely to go hand
in hand with sensitive development.
More than 6m people in Britain live in rural communities with populations of
less than 3,000 where local authorities rarely allow new properties to be
built. The government is expected to announce incentives for landowners to
release sites for the new homes.
In market towns, local authorities will be encouraged to consider sacrificing
green fields to give newly built properties bigger gardens, instead of what
Taylor describes as “useless grass strips” where there is no space for
children to play or trees to be planted.
The government is expected to argue that such fields are not normally
accessible to the public and represent only a tiny fraction of agricultural
land in England.
Tom Oliver, head of rural policy at the Campaign to Protect Rural England,
said: “Rural planning policy has served the country well for 60 years and
its intelligent evolution is crucial.
“A strong planning system which guides high quality development to the right
places and builds consensus in existing rural communities is vital for
Taylor’s vision to be delivered.”
Additional reporting: Brendan Montague
At threat
THE historic hamlet of Carrick is threatened with being swamped by a
1,000-house development.
The village, a mile south of Truro, Cornwall, has 26 homes, a traditional pub
and a former smelting works.
Carrick council has blocked development at a site at nearby Newham. However,
the government wants 6,600 houses built near Truro and Carrick is one of the
sites earmarked.
Villager Sue Adams, 44, a midwife, said: “We are going to be destroying
everything that is beautiful and unique about this village.”
