Futures Forum: Proposals for sheltered housing for the elderly in Sidford > third planning application recommended for approval
And it's not only happening in the Sid Valley:
Futures Forum: The ruinous planning policy MPs don’t want you to know about
Futures Forum: The new National Policy Planning Framework "is a developers' charter"
Futures Forum: Is the new National Policy Planning Framework just 'tokenistic consultation'?
The Raynsford Review is looking at how to redress these imbalances:
Futures Forum: Aiming for a fairer planning system
Futures Forum: Aiming for a fairer planning system >>> have your say
The chair of a planning committee in Kent hopes things will improve locally:
Our broken housing market urgently needs fixing
Readers respond to various Guardian articles about the state of the UK housing market
• The planning system is broken. At the London launch this week of Nick Raynsford’s Review of Planning in England, speakers described demoralised councillors and planners; frustration over constant changes of policy; and anger that the system is not delivering what people want. Parish councils are at the sharp end of this failure to reform the system. Communities here in Kent and across Britain are facing the threat of opportunistic, unplanned development. Landowners and developers are exploiting the fact that it takes time to prepare, consult on and get approval for a new local plan, to bring forward applications for housing development on unsuitable sites.
Additionally, where a local authority does not have a five-year “housing supply” (an arbitrary figure and a rather nebulous concept as the number of houses in the pipeline fluctuates continually), the new national planning policy framework (NPPF) dictates that councils must grant permission, unless there are overriding reasons to refuse. A developer-led planning process, crude housing targets, no joined-up regional thinking, and flawed “consultation” has resulted in communities being pitted against each other as they try to protect the environment and their health.
The Raynsford review makes 24 recommendations to create a simpler, fairer system. These include strategic regional planning, a (limited) community right to challenge in an attempt to redress the balance of power, and a duty on local authorities to plan for high-quality and genuinely affordable homes. I hope the government will listen carefully to the arguments for reform. Change is desperately needed.
Richard Byatt
Chair, planning committee, West Malling parish council, Kent
The Raynsford Review has been widely covered in the press:
Raynsford Review: A 24-point plan to fix the 'chaotic patchwork' planning system • PrimeResi
Six things you need to know about the Raynsford review | Planning Resource
Raynsford Review calls for ‘people-centric’ planning - Showhouse
Former housing minister slams 'toxic' permitted development rights | News | Local Government Chronicle
Planning in England lacks accountability | The Planner
Raynsford Review says 'toxic' planning system leading to inequality - NewStart
Raynsford Review: Planning reduced to “chaotic patchwork” of responsibilities - Planning and Building Control Today
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