Ensuring a Sustainable Future?

It was revealed last week that the UK population grew at its fastest rate for over half a century.


Between june 2009 and 2010 the countries population grew by 470,000 people, roughly the same number of people who live in Liverpool. Yet unless I have missed it, a new city hasn't risen out of the ground. So where are these people living?


Just over half of the 470,000 rise can be attributed to natural change, (The difference between births and deaths). This figure was 134,000 higher than the figure 10 years ago. Just under half of this rise were immigrants, leaving  around 200,000 extra people needing accommodation in a country where over the last 10 years house completions have continually decreased and where in many communities there is a strong resistance to any new development.


The increase in immigrants can also be partly used to explain the natural rise with 200,000 extra women of child baring age residing in the UK compared to 10 years ago.


At the other end of the scale the amount of people over the age of 85 has doubled from 600,000 in 1981 to 1.4 million today. Bringing its own problems of housing and care provision.


The result of this is record house prices, increasing number of people in their late 20s early 30s are now opting to rent and there is a council house waiting list of 1.75 million people. (The Times)


The coalition governments Draft national planning policy framework which is set to be released later this month aims to change the balance in favour of developers. Although this will give housebuilding a kickstart the policy could result in a increase in greenfield and greenbelt development, while current sustainability guidelines ensuring  new developments have access to public transport or walking and cycling routes to shops or places of work, will be ignored. Acording to the Times 'Councils will be unable to reject developments unless they can prove that the impacts would be so severe that they would outweigh the urgent need for new homes' (1).


90% (2) of the UK is currently open space, a fact perhaps forgotten in the overcrowded south east. While the density of Northern Cities such as Sheffield (3,942 people per Km2)  and  (Scottish) Glasgow (3,171) is very low when compared to Greater London at 5,099 people per sq km,and  there is a good supply of brownfield land in many of these places ready and waiting to be developed.


In 20 years the children born today will be wanting to fly there own nest;  it is crucial that for there sake at least the country has a proactive planning system and a ready supply of homes available and perhaps the new policy will result in a more sustainable long-term future.


(1)Webster B (1/7/2011) Planning rules pave way for greenbelt bonaza, The Times, London
(2)Pennington M (2/7/2011) Loosen your Greenbelt become a BIMBY, The Times, London

Major changes to planning system announced in Spring Budget

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.