News
London planning news, April 2020
16 Apr 2020
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Headline news |
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Measures introduced to control the spread of COVID-19 have had an immediate impact on the ability of London boroughs to carry out various planning services. We’ve contacted boroughs to understand how normal working arrangements have been affected.
Whilst the situation varies from borough to borough, most local authority planners have been able to work remotely from home and are continuing to validate applications. Many local authorities consider the processing of planning applications as essential to the longer term economic recovery; and are attempting to keep applications moving, whilst planning staff have been considered as key workers in some areas.
Several boroughs have stated that they are unable to validate physical applications and are advising submission via the Planning Portal website. Camden has a dedicated member of its support team posting site notices, however, most are now advising that applicants must erect site notices themselves. Most boroughs are now requesting that applicants provide officers with photo or videos of sites where possible. In almost all instances, face-to-face meetings have now been cancelled, though some are able to conduct virtual meetings for pre-application discussions and other inquiries.
Timetables for Council and Committee meetings show that most boroughs have needed to cancel or postpone upcoming meetings, which will lead to some planning decisions being delayed.
Some boroughs have stated that where possible they are extending powers of delegation to officers in order to allow for continuation of planning decisions in the absence of Committee. One such example is Merton; a statement on the borough’s website reads:
“Delegation to senior officers has increased temporarily with full consultation with members of the Planning Application Committee an integral part of that process”.
With the Coronavirus Act 2020 and subsequent secondary legislation, many local authorities have stated they will allow for Committee meetings to take place remotely, having regard to local procedural requirements.
Local Plan preparation looks set to continue, although statutory requirements for consultation may result in adjusted timetables as events are rescheduled or alternative solutions, such as online consultations and surveys are put in place.
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Quote of the month |
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Your Plan added layers of complexity that will make development more difficult unnecessarily; with policies on things as small as bed linen. Prescription to this degree makes the planning process more cumbersome and difficult to navigate; in turn meaning less developments come forward and those that do progress slowly. One may have sympathy with some of individual policies in your Plan, but in aggregate this approach is inconsistent with the pro-development stance we should be taking and ultimately only serves to make Londoners worse off.
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP |
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Secretary of State directs changes to the new London Plan
On 13 March, Secretary of State Robert Jenrick (SoS), wrote to the Mayor of London setting out his response to the Mayor’s ‘Intend to Publish’ version of the London Plan, submitted to him in December 2019.
The letter provides a general comment on housing delivery under the Mayor, which the SoS has described as ‘deeply disappointing’ in comparison to Mayors elsewhere, whilst also drawing attention to worsening affordability within the capital during his tenure. The SoS notes the stalling of strategic sites such as that at Old Oak and Park Royal, whilst his decision to require resident ballots as a condition for receiving Mayoral funding for estate regeneration projects is criticized as jeopardising housing delivery.
Overall, he concludes that “you have not taken the tough choices necessary to bring enough land into the system to build the homes needed” and as such “I am left with no choice but to exercise my powers to direct changes”.
The SoS considers that the draft Plan fails to provide the step change in housing delivery that is needed, and considers that, as drafted, it would actively discourage ambitious boroughs from seeking to deliver these desperately needed homes. Whilst they do not ‘need’ to do so, the Mayor has been directed to encourage local authorities to be more ambitious, to encourage boroughs to revisit the housing figures set in the London Plan where additional evidence suggests they can be exceeded.
The letter is accompanied by a schedule, setting out eleven directions, which must be incorporated into the plan before it can be published, though the SoS has invited the Mayor to suggest alternative changes to Policy to address the Government’s concerns.
Amongst the changes, the Mayor is directed to modify the Plan’s housing Policies to encourage the delivery of additional family housing, whilst emphasising the role of one and two bed units in freeing up existing family housing.
Further to this, the SoS has directed that the Plan’s policies on Green Belt and MOL must be amended so as to be in line with national policy, allowing scope to demonstrate the ‘very special circumstances’ and ‘exceptional circumstances’ for development; in essence allowing boroughs to make the case for the latter through their own local plans.
Whilst the SoS agrees that areas with existing high-density development should be considered for expansion (i.e. Opportunity Areas), he has directed that changes be made so that only ‘gentle densification should be actively encouraged’ in mid-lower density locations, this includes high streets and town centres locations.
Significant changes have been directed to the Mayor’s policies on protecting industrial land, through the deletion of the ‘no net loss’ principle for designated SIL/LSIS, thereby introducing considerably more flexibility around redevelopment of these key sites.
In doing so, the 65% plot ratio standard is also deleted (this has been controversial from the start and deemed to be unrealistic by the London Plan Panel). The directions now places greater emphasis on substitution of SIL land where alternative, more suitable, locations exist. Boroughs can seek to deliver intensified floorspace in new or existing industrial locations, though only where sufficient evidence is provided.
Notwithstanding all of these changes, Mr Jenrick is also seeking an ‘immediate’ review of the London Plan which may lead to a Strategic Green Belt Review (as recommended by the Panel), an increase in the housing requirement, and a wider consideration of how unmet needs are addressed in local authorities outside London.
A more detailed summary and analysis of the directed changes can be found within our recent blog post.
It is unclear at present whether the Mayor will accept all the changes, a statement on the Mayor’s website says he will consider the SoS’s response and take the statutory steps to finalise the Plan.
With the May elections now delayed to 2021, the Mayor has a considerably larger window to determine his next actions but will presumably want to have an adopted Plan ‘on the books’ before long.
At present, a statement on the Mayor’s website acknowledges receipt of the SoS’s letter and confirms that the Mayor will consider the response and take the statutory steps to finalise the Plan.
London Plan: letter from the Secretary of State for Housing
Mayoral elections delayed until 2021
In response to the current situation around COVID-19, the Government has announced that all local elections will be postponed; it was decided that campaigning and voting would be impacted by the crisis. Regulations published in April have now confirmed that the London Mayoral elections will be delayed by 12 months to May 2021.
Beyond the obvious consequence of Sadiq Khan remaining in his current post as Mayor of London for a further year, the deferral of the election gives a longer period for the Mayor to consider the SoS Direction on modifications to the new London Plan.
The Local Government and Police and Crime Commissioner (Coronavirus) (Postponement of Elections and Referendums) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020
Assembly report highlights London’s limited appetite for neighbourhood planning
A recent report from the London Assembly Planning Committee has revealed the limited uptake of neighbourhood planning across London and made a number of recommendations on how the process can be improved.
The report notes that there are only 16 neighbourhood plans in place across London, whilst 24 out of 33 London boroughs have no neighbourhood plans in place at all.
A number of factors were identified as contributing to the low take up, including the complexity of London’s neighbourhoods in terms of their cultural and demographic diversity and its comparatively transient population, which makes it more difficult for people to become involved in plan making activities which generally span over a period of several years.
London Assembly, Neighbourhood planning - progress and insights
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The Lichfields perspective |
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Despite the damning rhetoric of Jenrick’s letter to the Mayor, the substance of many of the directions are consistent with the Mayor’s wider policy objectives, whilst others, such as directions on Green Belt and car parking are likely to be insisted upon by Government to ensure consistency with national policy.
Steven Butterworth, Senior DirectorAccepting the directed modifications would give the Mayor a good prospect of getting a revised version of the new London Plan approved this year, with its policies becoming a part of boroughs’ Development Plan and starting to direct the next wave of local plans and future planning decisions. |
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Disclaimer: This publication has been written in general terms and cannot be relied on to cover specific situations. We recommend that you obtain professional advice before acting or refraining from acting on any of the contents of this publication. Lichfields accepts no duty of care or liability for any loss occasioned to any person acting or refraining from acting as a result of any material in this publication. Lichfields is the trading name of Nathaniel Lichfield & Partners Limited. Registered in England, no.2778116