Bruton Knowles - General - Gloucester, South West
Date: 16 Jul 2009
Property consultant Bruton Knowles is encouraging landowners and developers in the south west to review their development plans and land holdings as recent announcements threaten to throw an already unstable planning regime into further disarray.
The move follows a delay to the approval of the draft Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) for the south west. The document sets out the allocation of major development sites until the end of the RSS period, up to 2026. Submitted in 2006, it was due for approval in June 2009 but has been further delayed, sparking concerns that the current regime could even be derailed.
This concern comes as the Conservatives released their manifesto headlined 'Control Shift - Returning Power to Local Communities,' a strategy that, if implemented, would restore power to local councils, witness the abolition of the RSS and could see a wide-ranging re-allocation of development sites.
Scott Winnard, development surveyor and partner at Bruton Knowles' Gloucester office, explains the implications for landowners and developers: "With the outcome of the RSS undecided and the next general election less than a year away, we could be about to see a radical change to our planning system.
"It is an important time for landowners and developers to take stock and determine which active sites need urgent progression under the current regime, which are not worth pursuing and which previously dismissed sites may be re-evaluated with a new political party in power.
"If a change of government did indeed lead to a re-allocation of sites, Green Belt areas which the RSSs have zoned for development, for example, could become protected land, leaving new sites open to consideration for development. In short, sites that have been out of favour in the past may make a return to favour."
Even when there is established policy, it still takes several years for schemes to be progressed, raising fears that a significant change in planning policy could lead to a slowdown of the planning system, and even non-delivery, which has been evident in the last decade and can be a key factor in driving up prices, due to a lack of supply.
However, Scott Winnard emphasises that a change of government could herald a new era for those landowners who have been overlooked by the RSS.
He said: "A re-allocation of sites could signal a time of opportunity for those not included in original RSS quotas, as well as for those who have been submitting their sites to the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment to be considered for the suitability of housing provision.
"A change of government could also see an increase in development in villages and towns, rather than large urban extensions on the edges of our major cities and regional centres, which again extends the scope for planners and landowners.
"The key for those who thought that there was little hope within the current system is to seek professional advice early in order to appraise site potential and make any necessary commercial preparations.
"With the outcome of the draft RSS still undecided, there is no doubt that we are entering an uncertain planning period. However, there is now a chance for landowners and developers to maximise on current opportunities, as well as preparing for new ones," Scott Winnard added.
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