Episode 96:

Hello and Welcome to the Part3 with me podcast, 

The show that helps part 3 students jump-start into their careers as qualified architects and also provide refresher episodes for practicing architects. I am your host Maria Skoutari and this week we will be talking about Legislation changes & updates that will be coming into force in 2024. Today’s episode meets PC1,2 & 3 of the Part 3 Criteria.

The legislation changes and updates we will be discussing today coming into force in 2024 include the rise in planning fees, updates to the Biodiversity Net Gain policy, updates to Permitted Development Rights, updates to the National Planning Policy Framework and the introduction of the New Levelling Up and Regeneration Act. I will cover each one briefly to give you a quick overview of the changes with additional episodes to follow once more information has been released on each legislation update. 

Firstly, let’s start with the Planning Fees:

1. Fee Increases:

• Planning application fees for major development have had a substantial 35% increase.
• All other applications have experienced a 25% fee hike.

2. Annual Indexation:

• The introduction of an annual indexation mechanism for planning application fees is also to be introduced. This indexation will be capped at 10% and will take effect from April 1, 2025.

3. Removal of Fee Exemption (“Free Go”):

The fee exemption for repeat applications, known as the “free go,” is set to be removed. However, applicants may still benefit from a free go if their application was withdrawn or refused in the preceding 12 months, provided all other conditions for the “free go” are met.

4. Planning Guarantee Reduction:

• The Planning Guarantee period for non-major planning applications has been reduced from 26 to 16 weeks.

5. New Prior Approval Fee:

• A new fee of £120 has been introduced for applications seeking prior approval for development by the Crown on closed defence sites.

Then next, we have the introduction of Biodiversity net gain which I covered in episode 68. This legislation was supposed to be made mandatory in August 2023 but was pushed back to now come into effect in January 2024 and April 2024 for small sites (meaning under 10 dwellings, or, for non-residential developments, involving a floor space of less than 1000 sqm). Developments exempt from the framework include: 

• de minimis developments that do not affect a priority habitat and impact less than 25sqm of habitat, or 5m of linear habitats such as hedgerows;
• householder applications (for instance, for projects such as home extensions);
• self-build and custom build, provided that the site is no larger than 0.5 hectares, comprises no more than nine dwellings and is exclusively self-build or custom build; and
• developments undertaken for the purpose of fulfilling the BNG planning condition for other development.

Next we have potential changes to Permitted Development Rights:

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) recently consulted on the proposed changes to certain Permitted Development Rights (PDR) which are intended to support, amongst other things, housing delivery. The intention is that these amendments would provide further flexibility and facilitate the delivery of more, much needed homes. There are some significant changes proposed which, if adopted, would certainly go a long way to helping with the delivery of housing.

Extension / removal of the Class MA floorspace threshold

One of the headline amendments is the proposal to extend the current Class MA floorspace threshold which currently has a limit of 1,500 sq m for the change of use of a building in Class E use (such as shops, offices, restaurants, etc.) to residential. The consultation proposes doubling this threshold to 3,000 sq m or potentially removing this limit altogether. Obviously this will have significant advantages for larger sites where previously the applicant would have had to apply for full planning permission, with the added costs and scrutiny that encompasses. This amendment will no doubt be an attractive proposition for those with larger commercial sites looking to convert to residential without having to go through the full planning application process as it will ensure that proposals are in agreement with the council’s relevant policies.

Removal of the three month vacancy requirement

Another proposed change is to remove the requirement for a property to be vacant for a continuous period of three months immediately prior to an application for prior approval being submitted. One of the main obstacles with the current Class MA legislation is the three month vacancy period, which can leave property vacant for long periods resulting in unwanted costs to owners. Should this requirement be removed, it would be welcomed almost universally by those looking to benefit from Class MA.

Application to Article 2(3) land

A more controversial amendment is whether Class MA should also apply to Article 2(3) land. Article 2(3) land includes Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Parks. It also includes Conservation Areas (although the current Class MA legislation can be applied in Conservation Areas). The Government is seeking views on broadening the right to enable its use for other types of Article 2(3) land (with the exception of World Heritage Sites). Because PDR cannot change the external features of a building, this amendment will not see a change to the physical appearance of buildings in these areas, but it could see a change in the overall character of the area and an increase in residential footfall.

Extension to include (Class C1) to residential

Currently there is no PDR in place to facilitate change of use for hotels, boarding houses or guest houses (Class C1) to residential. The consultation proposes extending PDR to allow hotels to convert to residential, although this could see specific safeguards come in to play, including a consideration of the impacts that the change of use could have on the local tourism economy. A size limit may also be applied on the amount of floorspace that can be converted. 

Then we have the NPPF, which has also undergone some changes in 2023, with possible future changes coming in 2024:

Some of the potential updates to be made to the NPPF in 2024 will include: 

• Facilitate flexibility for local authorities in relation to local housing need and requirements for an area, some local authorities may wish to deliver more homes. 
• Clarify a local lock on any changes to Green Belt boundaries, ensuring it is clear that there is generally no requirement on local authorities to review or alter Green Belt boundaries if this would be the only way to meet housing need. Where a relevant local planning authority chooses to conduct a review, existing national policy will continue to expect that Green Belt boundaries are only altered where exceptional circumstances are fully evidenced and justified, and this should only be through the preparation or updating of plans.
• Safeguard local plans from densities that would be wholly out of character. The Government believes in heritage, beauty and community, therefore, the new NPPF recognises that there may be situations where significant uplifts in residential densities would be inappropriate as they would be wholly out of character with the existing area, and that this may in turn affect how much development can be planned for in the area concerned. This will apply where there is a design code which is adopted or will be adopted as part of the local plan.
• Free local authorities with up-to-date local plans from annual updates to their five-year housing land supply. The standard method was amended in 2020 to include an uplift in need for the 20 most populated English cities and urban centres, the updated NPPF now makes clear that this uplift should, be accommodated within those cities and urban centres concerned rather than exported to surrounding areas. Tough measures will be put on place where local authorities do not have an up-to-date local plan, they will be required to update their supply annually, and if they fail to do so, they will therefore be subject to the presumption in favour of sustainable development. Another way in which consequences are applied in the planning system is through the Housing Delivery Test. This Test is an assessment of an authority’s previous three years of housing delivery, and where there has been under-delivery.
• Limit the practice of housing need being exported to neighbouring authorities without mutual agreement. Local communities that have worked hard to put neighbourhood plans in place should not be penalised for the failure of their council to ensure an up-to-date local plan. The new NPPF, therefore, protects neighbourhood plans from speculative development from two to five years, where those plans allocate at least one housing site.
• Bolster protections from speculative development for neighbourhoods that develop their own plans.
• Support self-build, custom-build and community-led housing. The updated NPPF now emphasises the importance of community-led housing development, including introducing an exception site policy for community-led housing development. The policy changes also ensure that local authorities should seek opportunities to support small sites to come forward for community-led housing, and self-build and custom-build housing. They also encourage ‘permission in principle’ alongside other routes to permission to remove barriers for smaller and medium site builders in the planning system. The Government will also encourage the delivery of older people’s housing, including retirement housing, housing-with-care and care homes by requiring these to be specifically considered in establishing need.
• The updated NPPF also aims to cement the role of beauty and placemaking in the planning system. It will require greater ‘visual clarity’ on design requirements set out in planning conditions to provide certainty for those implementing planning permissions and supports gentle density through mansard roof development where appropriate. 
• And lastly, the new NPPF also strengthens protections for agricultural land, by being clear that consideration should be given to the availability of agricultural land for food production in development decisions and supports the Government’s Energy Security Strategy by giving significant weight to the importance of energy efficiency in the adaptation of existing buildings, while protecting heritage.

In addition to the updates mentioned, further updates have been made to 'Meeting the challenge of climate change, flooding and coastal change’, assisting decision makers dealing with proposals to use and improve existing renewable energy sites giving weight to the advantages of doing so.

Further clarity on the updates to be made to the NPPF will follow later this year and I will cover in a separate episode.

And lastly, in today’s episode, we will briefly be looking at the New Levelling Up and Regeneration Act:

The aim of the Act is to speed up the planning system, hold developers to account, cut bureaucracy, and encourage more councils to put in place plans to enable the building of new homes. It will promote building more homes increasing home ownership, empower communities to make better places, restore local pride and regenerate towns and cities. The Act puts local people at the heart of development – making it easier to put local plans in place and requiring design codes that set out where homes will be built and how they will look. It will boost local services, rebalance the housing and land markets and bring high streets back to life.

From what we know so far, it is expected that it will include: 

• The introduction of a new option for making changes to an existing permission, known as Section 73B, where local planners are satisfied that changes will not create a substantially different permission which is similar to the non-material amendement application, known as Section 96A. This new route to vary an existing planning permission will allow greater flexibility than the existing framework commonly reliant on the submission of multiple applications via different routes.
• It is expected that it will also introduce changes to the Community Infrastructure Levy, whereby the new levy will be a percentage of a development’s final value, as opposed to being based on floor area as it currently is, and it will be collected on completion rather than upfront during the planning process. The levy is expected to be non-negotiable and the intention is that it will become mandatory across England. 
• We are also expecting it to speed up the making of local plans
• Potential introduction of environmental outcomes reporting replacing Environmental Impact Assessments
• Increasing the protection to registered parks and gardens 

This Act and the NPPF essentially will feed into each other with some items covered by both from my understanding. 

The main focus generally seems to be on meeting the housing need and delivering the associated infrastructure and amenities to support new homes and generally providing the right homes in the right places. It remains to be seen if these checks and balances will hinder the government’s target of building 300,000 additional homes a year. 

This is roughly what has been published so far about these planning updates and I will keep you updated once further information has been released.