As expected the UK chancellor George Osborne has used his budget to announce some major changes to the UK planning system, which he called a 'chronic obstacle to economic growth' with the aim of encouraging development for economic gain.
The changes include relaxing planning regulations to try and kick start house building, following many years of declining numbers of new homes constructed. The fear for many here is a increase in greenfield sites swallowed up for development, there is also a fear that the government will remove guidelines specifying density levels which could lead to overcrowded residential areas.
Local planning authorities have also being given a 12 month time limit for the processing of ALL planning applications, including appeals. This may be fine for a rural authority but in a urban borough with many major applications in at once this will surely be a tough ask.
Enterprise zones have also made a welcome comeback, the first of which will be located in Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester Airport, Liverpool, The Tees Valley, Nottinghamshire, The Black Country, London, Derbyshire and the West of England.
Each enterprise zone will feature simplified planning processes as well as discounts on businesses that choose to locate in these areas. Critics have argued they simply run the risk of simply shifting businesses from one area to another.
No comments:
Post a Comment