The 50 Shades of Planning Blog

Is this fair or is it just a seasoned blogger’s cynical attempt at generating interest in an otherwise fairly dry attempt at summarising the most recent round of planning reform announcements? Who is to say, but this is my attempt at a summary of the build out, site threshold, planning committee and BNG proposals, synthesised with what I humbly contend the key elements of them to be. Just to recap… 25 May (bash the big builders) ‘Get on and Build' Deputy Prime Minister urges housebuilders ​​ ​​​Planning Reform Working Paper: Speeding Up Build Out ​​ - GOV.UK ​ ​Technical consultation on implementing measures to improve Build Out transparency​ - GOV.UK 28 May (support the small ones) Government backs SME builders to get Britain building - GOV.UK Planning Reform Working Paper: Reforming Site Thresholds - GOV.UK Reform of planning committees: technical consultation - GOV.UK Improving the implementation of biodiversity net gain for minor, medium and brownfield develop...

Whatever it is that you do your working life will most likely have a rhythm to it. A senior planning officer, for example, might have their week influenced by the monthly committee cycle.  A senior planning consultant, for further example, might have their week influenced by the monthly fee forecast. My working week is typically influenced by what I get the most emails about, which  does ebb and flow over time.  The frequency and concentration of emails affords the opportunity to sniff out the ‘live issues’ affecting the development industry at any given point in time. I have further taken to categorising these live issues into a 'Top 3', 'Top 5' and 'Top 10' so that if, for example, civil servants get 15 minutes with the Minister on a Monday morning they might be encouraged to bring three things to his attention; if they get 30 minutes, five things; if they get an hour, well you get the gist... As of right now my inbox is mostly occupied by the ability of buil...

Introduction By common consensus there will a considerable increase in the submission of planning applications this year, certainly applications for residential development and certainly driven by applications on the Grey Belt. Data published by the LPDF in February suggested a 160% increase in the number of planning applications to be submitted by it’s members between January and June 2025 compared to the number submitted between July and December 2024. Since then evidence for the uptick has largely been anecdotal. I have certainly heard from several builders and promoters of an intention to make 4, 5 or 6 times more planning applications from strategic land portfolios this year than in recent years. Empirical evidence is though also now starting to emerge. MHCLG data published last month reveals that between January and March English LPAs received 6% more planning applications than the same quarter last year, bucking a stark downward trend since 2021 (some of this may though be due...

Amongst very many things of interest in Savills’ recent ‘ Spotlight on Planning 2025 ’, this section will be of particular interest to anybody promoting land through a local plan that is either at or is heading towards examination. When the new NPPF was introduced in late December 2024, local authorities (LAs) could, under certain conditions, take advantage of a transition period which allowed them to progress emerging Local Plans under the previous framework. Faced with an average increase in housing targets of c.80% under the revised standard method, many LPAs had a significant incentive to accelerate the process. By the time the 12th March deadline arrived, 47 LPAs had submitted plans for examination under the previous version of the NPPF, and a further 23 had published Regulation 19 plans, suggesting many authorities were indeed keen to take advantage of the arrangements. Those publishing Regulation 19 plans would be allowed to progress their emerging plans if their emerging housin...

Podcast episode 142 is available now via this link or from iTunes and Spotify . It has been another exciting few weeks in the fast-paced, ever-changing rock and roll world of town and country planning has it not?   “Thousands of new homes promised to communities will be delivered faster, thanks to major changes to make sure developers deliver on their commitments and do not leave sites half-finished for years”, announced a MHCLG press release on Sunday 25 May.   “This government has taken radical steps to overhaul the planning system to get Britain building again after years of inaction. In the name of delivering security for working people, we are backing the builders not the blockers. Now it’s time for developers to roll up their sleeves and play their part”, said Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner.   A planning reform working paper on speeding up build out ​​and a technical consultation on implementing measures to improve build out transparency...

Podcast episode 141 is available now via this link or from iTunes and Spotify . For how long Grey Belt remains part of the policy landscape time will tell, but in the here and now it represents very welcome political recognition that the homes the country needs cannot be built without developing land that is currently identified as Green Belt. The irresistible force, it might be said, has started to shift the immoveable object... If that dynamic continues it may prompt questions about what the Green Belt should actually be for and, perhaps, a Royal Commission on it’s future, but that is very much for tomorrow... In the here and now planners need to know how the inclusion of the Grey Belt concept within the December 2024 version of the NPPF will affect their working lives because anybody involved in trying to bring sustainable sites forward will most surely have their working lives affected. To support practitioners understand the implications of Grey Belt Landmark Chambers held a...