The Planning system. Local council planning departments/councillors. Nimbies. Government pledges/reforms.
Its a brave, patient wealthy property developer that is happy to operate in this system.
Whether you are a fan of Jeremy Clarkson, or not, his show on Amazon, Clarkson's Farm, not only is a public information film on the state of farming in the UK, but also gives a great insight into dealing with the local council on planning matters. Yes his farm is in an Area of Outstanding National Beauty, and yes I'm sure the program is produced with bias in his favour, but even so, common sense seems to disappear at the expense of the wider local community.
If you haven't watched it, do. Clarkson polarises opinion to the extent that one local couple hired a planning consultant to represent them at the planning hearing. I hope he didn't cost much - he was useless. But don't think this is an isolated occurrence.
I work with a seasoned developer, and now an expert in planning, whose depth of patience is matched by the depth of his pockets, but faces abuse, either on line or in letters to the local councillors/planning authority, often including factually incorrect information or liable, often fuelled by a local councillor more intent on retaining his/her voters than assisting with the provision of much needed local, affordable housing.
Successive Governments have strived for this magical/mythical 300,000 new homes a years with little success. The current incumbents propose reform which gives greater consultative powers locally and looks to stifle the power of the planning inspectorate. The opposition "pledge" putting home ownership at the heart of their manifesto for government and will undoubtedly spend fortunes trying to meet this target - and will fail.
To ease this shortage we continue to look to larger developments comprising of a system of boxes. One wonders how these larger inner city schemes cater for families, or engender some sense of community, albeit are efficient use of space and cost effective.
Existing older stock can be used and reconstituted to provide smaller units in inner city areas. And by maintaining the existing façade, the current street scene is maintained. This isn't a new concept - the developer I am working with on this patented the concept 30 years ago! I look forward to sharing more on this in a later blog.
To me, unless there is a radical shift in how we approach both housing and planning, and cope with an aging population, I see little chance of any change anytime soon.
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