Posted by The decision to shelve the regional planning system for housing and employment in the region has “frozen” the West’s ability to emerge from recession, according to Bristol property consultants.
Meanwhile, Conservative plans to devolve planning decisions to local levels are a “Nimby’s Charter”, says a senior partner at King Sturge.
Ned Cussen: Region will have to play 'catch-up'
In September, officers creating the South West Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) put the plans on hold until later this year after a legal challenge to a similar document in the east of England.
The planning blueprint for the South West called for 592,000 new homes in the region by 2026, but the shelving of this long-term plan meant the region would end up playing “catch-up” for years to come.
“This region’s delivery of new homes and workspace has been stalled by the market,” said Ned Cussen.
“This was addressed through the Regional Spatial Strategy that went through months of expensive consultation. But this has now been shelved and may never see the lights of day.”
The Tories have pledged to scrap the RSS if they come to power at the next election. They argue that the plan does not provide for the jobs and infrastructure required for the numbers of new homes built.
They have suggested that planning decision should be brought to a local level – but this would create “huge inconsistencies” in the way planning is decided across the region.
“This will do little to help embattled planning officers to fight what could be ‘Nimby’ minorities opposed to any local development,” Mr Cussen added.
“Delivery could be dependent on whether authorities are pro- or anti-development and while it is argued that regional bodies are unaccountable, the fact is the regional planning horizon is a logical one.”
Pressure to change the RSS has come from Bristol City Council’s Liberal Democrats in the last few months, in an attempt to protect green belt land.
In November, councillors endorsed a plan to prevent building on green belt land surrounding the city. It means 100 acres of green land around the city cannot be built on for at least 10 years once the policy comes into force next year.
Councillors have agreed to build 30,000 new homes within the city of Bristol, but promise these will be on brownfield and disused green space within the city boundaries.
Cotham councillor Neil Harrison, the assistant executive member for sustainability, said the plans were part of his party’s manifesto commitment to protect Green Belt land.
“As one of our manifesto commitments, we promised to protect the city’s Green Belt where we could and this document achieves that.
“Through their changes to the Regional Spatial Strategy, the Labour government had wanted to force Bristol to build more houses within its boundaries than there is capacity for.
“Along with other councils across the country, the Lib Dems in Bristol have resisted this and worked to set a realistic target that allows for sustainable growth without jeopardising the city’s green threshold.”
Further reading
Nothing concentrates the mind as much as the threat of imminent unemployment. Sorry Ned …
I can think of plenty of sites in Bristol where planning permission has been given ages ago, but building has either not started yet or been stopped or delayed (large sites with a significant residential component, that is). If Mr Cussen and the rest of the industry really are as concerned as they pretend to be, maybe they could start with those inner city brownfield sites instead of concreting over the green belt?
What the article also does not say, is that the reason the RSS have been delayed is because Government offices neglected to subject these plans to the basic sustainability appraisals that would investigate whether there was enough water & sewage infrastructure capacity, transport, energy etc to provide the basic civilised requirements to future house occupants, without causing massive damage to the natural environment on which future economic prosperity depends.
The shelving is not a Nimby charter, but a basic failure to provide realistic targets and plans for future development that fit with a regions capacity to deliver. Driving maximum top down housing numbers so that Ministers looked strong on housing and pleased the Developers has backfired, as people all over England have rejected these plans.
Besides which, planning at the local level is a cornerstone of our system. Of course it produces inconsistent outcomes. Its meant to.
Calling someone a Nimby is often a sign that the person doing the name calling cannot or will not engage with the issues. Better to stereotype than think! Certainly seems to be the case for Mr Cussen.
The consultation for the South West RSS resulted in the largest response to any consultation. Over 35,000 people from the area made their views known , with 99% against the aims of the RSS. What the article does not explain is that our four local councils are quite happy to see the building of over 100,000 new homes in their area, so to imply that few new homes will be built is not correct. As for “nimby minorities” not wanting local development, this is far from the truth. Most of the “nimbies” I know want more development, but where it is best for the community, not for the developers.