In the latest blog from our series on the next generation of New Towns, Lachlan Anderson-Frank MRTPI sets out some of the challenges authorities face when delivering large-scale housing growth in the current planning system.
Recent press coverage of new communities has often been highly negative, with projects branded a ‘disaster’, full of ‘broken promises’ with ‘no heart’. But government’s next generation of New Towns are no silver bullet, as we set out in the first blog in this series. Addressing our housing crisis will require a portfolio of solutions, including local strategic growth and urban extensions below 10,000 homes – these are likely to contribute more homes overall than New Towns alone.
Addressing our housing crisis will require a portfolio of solutions; New Towns are no silver bullet.
New Communities Group
The TCPA is reflecting on the challenges authorities have experienced in bringing forward such growth, drawing on discussions with our New Communities Group of 25 authorities delivering schemes over the past 15 years.
Last year, the group met with then Shadow Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook MP last year to discuss these challenges; and continues to work with government to address barriers to delivery. Too often, the risks and benefits – whether political, financial or reputational – fall squarely on councils, even where they own little land and deliver few homes themselves.
Locating and designating areas for development
The NPPF2012 heralded a more local approach to housing growth, amidst the collapse of Ecotowns and regional planning initiatives, which has not always supported major housing growth. The framework makes only two references to such schemes: Paragraph 77 provides limited encouragement and a high-level set of considerations (including reference to Garden City Principles), while Footnote 38 highlights the uncertainties around infrastructure provision.
This devolution of strategic housing growth designation to local plans has been a torturous route, with limited capacity to develop the evidence to defend these schemes from scrutiny. While government looks to recreate strategic planning, local plans continue to fail the Duty to Cooperate and a legal challenge has now been brought against the Planning Inspectorate on this matter. What is needed from government is a strong, shared vision for the delivery new communities.
Removing the responsibility of central government to frame the right support package under the NPPF, poor co-ordination, and the inability to bring government departments and other agencies to the table has led to many issues.
Government must set out a coherent policy programme for large-scale housing growth so that different bodies march to the beat of the same drum.
Looking forward, government must set out a coherent policy programme for large-scale housing growth so that different bodies march to the beat of the same drum, including by developing clear national policy positions on the standard of delivery. Given the need to deliver 300,000 homes per year, the lack of such guidance is inexplicable, and lack of support, for example in the rail and water sectors, baffling. Homes England’s 2019 toolkit is helpful, but its limited status has meant many authorities end up re-inventing the wheel.
Central government should produce a national spatial evidence base to guide growth, as well as support and enable sub-regional and local authorities to actively collaborate in the designation and design process for large-scale schemes which fall short of the threshold for New Town designation.
Forward funding infrastructure spend
Under the current system, few Local Authorities have been empowered to undertake a master developer role, with complex delivery coordination often secured through S106 agreements alone which are poorly suited to complex multiparty delivery. Whilst S106 and CIL can be used to capture land value increases, these tools are not designed specifically for capturing uplifts on greenfield agricultural sites, nor are they well suited to large-scale growth involving the full servicing of plots for development by a master developer.
Under the current system, few Local Authorities have been empowered to undertake a master developer role.
Furthermore, the structure of the utilities sector makes planning for and servicing development complex for the public sector. The Government’s Garden Communities programme provided some capacity funding and bespoke support for larger-scale housing growth and urban extensions from 2017 onwards, and the £4.2bn Housing Infrastructure fund programme sought to underpin this delivery (more on this to come). But neither of these had a basis in planning policy or legislation and they frequently failed to fit neatly within the Local Plan system.
In today’s fiscal climate, private sector investment will be needed upfront in new communities, alongside the recently announced £39bn Affordable Homes Programme, £10bn Homes England revolving fund, and other infrastructure investments as part of the National Infrastructure Strategy. While the HIF programme provided some assistance to authorities, there were challenges around the flexibility of spend and inflationary pressures.
Ongoing reforms to the Compulsory Purchase Order process and around hope value may incentivise negotiated outcomes, a clearer statutory process for sharing infrastructure costs and value uplifts across parcels would be beneficial. However, large-scale developments will still require major long-term upfront financing far beyond most authority’s headroom and capabilities, likely from private capital markets. Strategic collaboration agreements bringing together new Combined Authorities and housing providers could help to unlock this, alongside collaboration with the banking sector through the National Housing Bank, including the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme government committed to in its Planning Working Paper.
Government must now set out a high-level policy vision and articulate a package of financial support for major housing growth and accompanying policy tools and framework, ideally through its proposed National Housing Strategy.
Long-term stewardship and capacity
Community and cultural development are also integral to new large-scale placemaking. Whether establishing new Town Councils or other governance bodies to give communities a say in community infrastructure, there is good practice which deserves recognition. Innovative approaches which the TCPA has explored in its work on long term stewardship, such as community shops and temporary facilities need scaling up, particularly where businesses dedicated solely to residential development are operating.
Government should also consider whether developments over a certain size which are not subject to New Towns legislation should be overseen by independently chaired development boards, and reflect on the significant challenges local planning authorities face in securing skilled staff.
“One thing that I would love to see is a properly sponsored and maybe even properly resourced…academy and network to explore some of these questions in detail…What can we learn from the past? What can we learn from other countries? What can we learn from the few examples of where we are doing things well in this country at the moment?”
David Lunts, ex-CEO of the OPDC, Lords Built Environment Committee Inquiry on New Towns
Pooling public sector expertise, including Public Practice, Homes England’s Atlas 2.0, and the TCPA’s New Communities Group offer invaluable opportunities for peer support and knowledge sharing. Delivering new places is not the core activity of local authorities, and delivery is often overseen by a relatively small team in comparison with other services. Building capacity in a sustainable way, including through strategic tariffs, changes to planning fees, and wide-ranging performance agreements at allocation stage are critical.
What next?
As government moves forwards with its New Town agenda, the TCPA continues to engage with policy makers and Homes England around support for large-scale development and will soon be refreshing its offer to New Communities Group members in light of government announcements. We continue to advocate for a clearer policy framework addressing regulatory, financial and logistical challenges experienced in large-scale developments alongside formally designated New Towns.
While new strategic plans and emerging changes to the utilities sector offers opportunities to underpin housing growth at scale, there is much to be done to clear the path for ambitious authorities to delivery major urban extension and other growth. Ensuring that any guidance and standards that apply to New Towns cascades down to benefit smaller schemes under 10,000 homes will also be critical.
If you are interested in joining the TCPA’s New Communities Group, please do get in touch with me at Lachlan.anderson-frank@tcpa.org.uk and I would be happy to discuss.
Other blogs in this series:
New Towns: the need for a strong vision – Town and Country Planning Association
New Towns glory or Eco Towns dead end? – Town and Country Planning Association
