Housing

22-Mar-12

We promote sustainable communities where sufficient and appropriate housing is well integrated with the wider community infrastructure.

latest news

Urban Extension: A proposal for a major urban extension at Grantham, Lincolnshire, has been turned down by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles following a recovered appeal hearing. The factors weighed against the proposal included “prejudice to the emerging Grantham Action Area Plan, which should determine the scale, location and phasing of housing development at Grantham”.
IPPR has published a report 'We must fix it' that argues that, even with the release of new funding and land, we will not see the increase in housing supply we need unless we look also to reform the development industry itself.
Meeting Local Housing Demand
The Local Government Association (LGA) with the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) has published this document which lays out many of the options available to Councils.
Future Homes Commission -The Commission is calling for evidence for its inquiry into the quality of newly built housing with the aim of understanding how people live today, what they need and expect from their homes and whether the design and delivery of new homes is fit for purpose.
The Government has published a Housing Strategy for England and the RTPI-CIH Planning for Housing Network Special Bulletin provides full information and links.
BSHF has published a briefing paper Local Authorities’ Role in Housing Supply
Demand for new housing will outstrip supply by the equivalent of the size of the UK's second largest city Birmingham. This is the conclusion from a new report, Tackling the Housing Crisis, from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).
The Government and businesses must adopt a two-pronged approach to deliver both short and long-term solutions to the housing crisis, the CBI has said.
The Government has announced a Growing Places Fund that can be used to establish revolving funds to help facilitate economic growth, including housebuilding in England.

Policy changes and consultations

Communities and Local Government Committee Inquiry - Financing of New Housing Supply: The Inquiry will focus on the steps which need to be taken by Government to ensure that the resources are available to enable the nation’s housing needs to be met. It will consider both the private sector, in the context of current and likely ongoing restrictions on the availability of mortgage finance, and social and affordable housing.

Section 75 (Scotland): Following the introduction of the formal process for modification or discharge of a planning obligation, the Chief Planner, Jim Mackinnon, has issued a letter to planning authorities clarifying that applications may be made to modify or discharge agreements made under Section 75 prior to 1 February 2011.

Planning for Traveller Sites: the RTPI has made a response to the consultation from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG).

Damage recovery? Relaxing planning rules for change of use from commercial to residential would damage economic recovery and be unworkable, the RTPI has argued, in a response to a consultation from DCLG.

The Government has announced changes to PPS3 that make the new higher rented 'affordable' housing come within the planning legislation 'affordable' definition.

As part of its ‘fundamental Review’ of Housing Policy ippr has published Forever Blowing Bubbles? Housing’s role in the UK economy. A meeting with Planning for Housing Network members has been arranged as part of the Review.

Zero Carbon - Housing Minister Grant Shapps has announced a ‘tough but realistic’ definition for zero carbon homes that ‘strikes the right balance between delivering the zero carbon homes for the future and creating the right conditions to get the homes the country needs built’.

Localism Bill - The RTPI webpage on the Bill will keep you abreast of changes and progress.

Practice

Delivering Effective Regeneration: This Building & Social Housing Foundation (BSHF) research briefing outlines key learnings for regeneration policymakers and practitioners, with a particular focus on the Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder ‘Bridging NewcastleGateshead’ which ran from 2003 to 2011 in the North East of England.
Place Spotlight: The Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) has launched Place Spotlight - a web-based resource to support the local investment planning process and help local authorities to identify ways to improve their delivery of great places.
Homes of our times: A study by the Metropolitan Housing Partnership on whether residents are achieving intended savings, emitting less carbon and using less energy as a result of living in greener homes.
Tackling Volatility - The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has published a report from its Housing Market Task Force titled ‘Tackling Housing Market Volatility in the UK’. Prof Peter Williams writes in Inside Housing about the Report.
Housing Minister Grant Shapps has launched a new guide 'The Community Right to Build: An Opportunity in the Making' that gives people an idea about what the new Localism Bill powers could mean for their area.
DIY Housing - a BSHF report looks at how self-help housing could play a greater role in the UK. It is titled ‘Self-Help Housing: Supporting locally driven housing solutions’.
Housing charity Shelter offers a new, free online resource ‘Shelter Housing Insights for Communities’ that allows users to find out the attitudes toward house building in a local area.
Houses in Multiple Occupation - to keep abreast of the rapid changes with the best information as it becomes available.
Delivery of housing through the use of planning obligations - DCLG compilation of independent research.
There is a housing champion for the RTPI's Seven Commitments on Climate Change. More information on housing and climate change is on the Network pages.
Signposting to more practice advice.

Networks

The RTPI-CIH Planning for Housing Network provides a cross-profession route to keeping well informed on and influencing developing policy and practice. Join the network.

RTPI Projects

The Housing Network has a task group looking at means to keep affordable housing within the mix for all new developments. An article inviting input was published in Planning.

Our viewpoint

We are very much aware that building rates have not been keeping pace with demographic change and the rate of deterioration in existing housing. The RTPI believes that local development plans are the proper place for competing demands for land to be resolved and therefore where land allocations for additional housing, balanced with redevelopment of worn out uses, should be made. Research has previously identified that there is more land allocated for housing than current programmes are using and this would indicate the need for better working between the finance and construction sectors to increase the pace of new construction to meet evident need, including the appropriate element of social housing with assistance from the Homes & Communities Agency.

MORE INFORmation/events/cpd

View our events calendar for upcoming RTPI housing events
How is the Housing System Coping? – Wednesday 18 to Friday 20 April, York
The Annual Housing Studies Association (HAS) Conference provides an opportunity to examine the component parts of the housing system in the UK. An Early Career Housing Researchers Stream will run in parallel to the main Conference.
Community Land Trusts Conference and Exhibition 2012 – Tuesday 22 May, London
“This is the only conference dedicated entirely to Community Land Trusts (CLTs) and is a unique learning and networking opportunity with practitioners and policy makers gathered in one place”.