Building around railways is organic placemaking
The Government has announced that planning applications for homes around train stations will get a default ‘yes’, and any housing development above 150 homes will require councils to inform government if they are inclined to block applications.
Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said: “Building around existing transport infrastructure is the organic placemaking the nation has been crying out for. It will provide planning certainty – helping projects become viable and speeding up delivery of homes.”
The proposal extends to trams and will be consulted on later in the year, through a new pro-growth and rules-based National Planning Policy Framework.
As part of a strategy to enable better places the proposal also includes the following:
- The default ‘yes’ position will extend to green belt land.
- Minimum housing density standards will be required, with developers encouraged to exceed them.
- Ministers will make decisions on refused sites of more than 150 homes, with particular attention paid when refusal is contrary to planning officer advice.
- The number of applications considered by some statutory consultees will decrease by up to 40%.
Rico Wojtulewicz, Head of Policy and Market Insight at the NFB, said:
“Building around transport, encouraging density, tackling planning politics, and supporting planners – many of us in the industry are left speechless at the ambition and conviction.
“This is a considerable opportunity to enable organic placemaking and stimulate housing supply, particularly in relation to density. We will be knocking on Mr Reed’s door waving our ‘Community Density’ report, which identifies how good design can make tall, dense buildings that are both acceptable to local people and seen as the default for great placemaking and more housing.”
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