Architects support measures to speed up planning decisions

Architects and other professionals within the construction and property industries have welcomed the government’s new Planning and Infrastructure Bill.

The bill, which has been introduced to Parliament, will see significant measures introduced to speed up planning decisions to boost housebuilding.

The president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Muyiwa Oki said: “This is a welcome shot in the arm for the construction industry.

“To ensure the much needed high quality housing and infrastructure, urgent action is required.

“However, to deliver the seismic changes proposed, local planning departments will need to be adequately resourced and supported with the right people, skills and design expertise they need.

“We look forward to examining the bill and working with the government to ensure we create well-designed homes and places that meet the needs for communities to thrive.

“The bill signifies a step in the right direction to speeding up the planning system.

“What’s not in question is the desperate need to build quality homes and vibrant places up and down the country.”

The bill aims to remove unnecessary blocks and challenges to the delivery of vital developments like roads, railway lines and windfarms.

Key measures include streamlining planning decisions through the introduction of a national scheme of delegation that will set out which types of applications should be determined by officers and which should go to committee.

It will also have controls over the size of planning committees to ensure good debate is encouraged with large and unwieldy committees banned, and mandatory training for planning committee members.

Councils will also be empowered to set their own planning fees to allow them to cover their costs – with the stretched system currently running at a deficit of £362 million in the recent year.

This money will be reinvested back into the system to speed it up.

A Nature Restoration Fund will be established to balance the needs of the economy and nature by ensuring builders can meet their environmental obligations faster and at a greater scale by pooling contributions to fund larger environmental interventions.

Development corporations will be strengthened to make it easier to deliver large-scale development – like the government’s new towns – and build 1.5 million homes alongside the required infrastructure.

These were used in the past to deliver the post-war new towns and play a vital role when the risk or scale of a development is too great for the private sector.

Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation (NHF), said: “At a time when the housing crisis continues to blight lives across the country, it’s welcome to see the introduction of this bill.

“With more than 160,000 children in temporary accommodation, it’s never been more urgent to build the social homes we need.

“Planning reform is an essential part of solving the housing crisis, and a return to strategic planning is welcome.

“A focus on certainty and enabling local areas to work together to plan for the homes, jobs and infrastructure needed in communities will ensure every area benefits from growth.

“Measures to reform compulsory purchase orders in the bill are also welcome and will support the delivery of affordable housing and other local infrastructure such as GPs and schools.”