The Nppf And The Housing Industry: The Facts

The Nppf And The Housing Industry: The Facts

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The NPPF And The Housing Industry: The FACTS

When the draft National Planning Policy framework (NPPF) was released by Eric Pickles it was assumed that it would be welcomed by all as a measure to reduce the complicated proce-dure of obtaining planning permission, therefore encouraging growth and development, stimulating the economy and increasing the supply of housing. However the plans have been criticised by organisations such as the National Trust who are worried that reform would see the reduction of the greenbelt and that the only people who would profit would be the con-struction industry and developers.

What does the draft NPPF propose?

The draft NPPF seeks to make development easier by streamlining the planning application process, as it stands obtaining planning for development is a complicated and varying proc-ess. The new framework reduces 1,300 pages of planning framework to just 52. Changes made seek to make it easier to obtain planning permission, furthermore there is a clause in the plan that says decisions should be made in presumption in favour of sustainable develop-ment. By no means does this mean that developers can do what they like, but it does mean that councils would have to reasonably justify their decision to reject plans that would help local economies.

What are the National Trust opposed to?

The National Trust and Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) quickly released a state-ment, making clear their objections to the draft NPPF, in particular that a housing boom will occur against the wishes of local residents and often at the sacrifice of green belt land. The clause that decisions should be in favour of sustainable development is what the National Trust have objected to as they feel that it would lead to the destruction of the greenbelt, countryside and historic buildings. Furthermore, as the National Trust has pointed out, any benefit to the public appears to be a second-thought, with the real favour being given to de-velopers. Greg Clark, a minister in the Department for Communities, has subsequently rub-bished the National Trusts claims, accusing them of misunderstanding the NPPF draft and thus standing in the way of positive development that would take account of the value of green space and national parks.

Will houses be built as a consequence of the NPPF?

Many housing developers are sitting on land with no planning permission, the changes would seek to ease this gap which has grown to its highest since 1998. However according to Clark, homes could only be built on greenbelt land if the idea was supported by 90% of the local community, this comes as a relief to many communities who have seen local countryside destroyed as a consequence of unwanted housing development. The clause community right-to-build appears to protect against this.

But will the proposed changes to planning help the housing industry?

Clark went on to say in an interview that the encouragement of development would revive the housebuilding industry and therefore help ease the housebuilding crisis. However, while the NPPF may address the issue of housing supply in no way does it tackle the problem of housing demand, which is the key issue in the property market crisis. Perhaps Clark has failed to recognise that even a greater supply of houses would to help prospective buyers un-able to get mortgages, or sellers unwilling to sell their properties as they are in negative eq-uity.

Clark claims that there is a greater need for housing and that not doing so would cause rental prices to soar and more people slipping into poverty. While a greater supply of housing could ease the price of rent as demand for rent increases, the real winners will be the construction industry and the landlords, not the ordinary homeowner who continues to struggle in a tur-bulent housing market.

About the Author:
Grace Coleman, writer for Property Advice Blog, invites you to visit our website to find UK Mortgage Brokers who can offer today's Best Buy mortgage products at the lowest possible rates. You can also compare over 5000 Conveyancing Solicitors and hundreds of Home Insurance providers.



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