In the summer the Ministry for Housing and Local Government consulted on a new formula to allocate housing numbers that Local Plans should seek to achieve in England.
The Society commented on the formula which we thought was simplistic. The MHCLG has now considered the results of its consultation and have now revised the Standard Method. This announcement has been included in a wider announcement ‘Plan to regenerate England's cities with new homes’
Once the details of the new Standard Method which is claimed to help councils to enable the delivery of 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s, while prioritising brownfield sites and urban areas; are available we will be examining them closely to see what impact it will have on the Guildford Local Plan Review due in about 3 years time.
The announcement details several other changes and funding schemes It is proposed to revise the so-called ‘80/20 rule’ which guides how much funding is available to local areas to help build homes, this is to ensure funding is not just concentrated in London and the South East.
In January the government plans to launch a new £100 million Brownfield Land Release fund
The government is also encouraging councils to ensure that appropriate numbers of family homes come forward, with the right mix of home sizes, types and tenures for local communities.
The announcement also notes the government has made it easier to demolish and rebuild unused buildings as homes, providing restaurants, pubs and cafes with the freedom to provide takeaway services, and making it easier for businesses and communities to host markets and stalls so customers can be served safely.
Lichfields the Planning and Development Consultancy have produced an excellent analysis of the changes
MHCLG
Has now produced a series of documents including
How Housing Need will be assessed
and indicative numbers by Authority
Simon Jenkins in The Guardian has commented
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