Government's plan for housing too narrow in its thinking

Published by webmaster for Royal Town Planning Institute in Communities

The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) will today warn Government that its plans for housing are too focused on market demand, failing to take into account ‘need for development’.  The RTPI labelled the plans, "predict and provide” rather than based on the sound principles of inclusive planning. Monday 27 February is the final date for comment on the Government’s plans for house building across the UK.

The RTPI strongly supports the Government’s overarching objectives for planning for housing. However the Draft Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS 3) on housing, puts market economics at the centre of the mechanism that determines where and how many houses should be built. This is of great concern to the RTPI as housing numbers and location should be decided by much broader factors than simply where demand is highest, such as the already overheated South East of England.

A market-led approach is likely to fail people who are unable to make their presence felt in the market place, such as those struggling to get on the housing ladder or some of the 100,000 families living in temporary accommodation. It is precisely these people, who require genuinely affordable housing, that need the most help from the planning system. Planning must consider the need for housing rather than just market demand.

The RTPI is not convinced by Kate Barker’s argument (the author of the Barker report that has influenced PPS3) that the route to cheaper houses relies mainly on building more.

David Barraclough, Planning Policy Manager at the RTPI said: "Housing has sufficient unique features that set it apart from simple economics, such as: a fixed location; its value can be determined by external factors such as the quality of the environment or the availability of outside space; internal factors such as period features; or whether the property is seen as an investment or as a home.”

The annual addition to housing stock is less than 1% of already existing homes, which means that new build can have no more than a minimal effect on prices or distribution.

The RTPI is firmly of the view that the draft PPS has been designed to address housing problems in the growth areas of the South East. While the RTPI has reservations about whether this is an appropriate approach in those areas, we have severe doubts about its application elsewhere in England. In the West Midlands for example, the regional plan seeks to concentrate new housing in specific urban areas, where it can be a catalyst to regeneration, rather than relying on local market demand to dictate location.

The current planning system is spatial, which means it is predicated on integration and inclusiveness – of communities and other urban professionals. The draft PPS fails to take into account the change in planning that has occurred over the last two years, from the old land-use system to a new spatial planning system. Draft PPS3 appears to be a ‘housing only’ approach which shows little regard for the ability of good planning to significantly influence markets, including creating demand and turning around failing markets.

Finally, Draft PPS 3 has significant resource implications for Local Planning Authorities (LPAs). LPAs are already overstretched as the recent Audit Commission report made clear. LPAs will be required to undertake additional information-gathering, research and monitoring, for which trained staff and funding will be necessary. Present evidence is that the welcomed recent measures to increase the resources available for planning may not be sufficient to cover the extended role.

Ends

Press release issued: February 27 2006