Policy & Politics Update

Property, Transport, Environment and Infrastructure

20th August 2012

Property, planning and regeneration

Brokers to unlock stalled schemes Councils and developers will be offered free-of-charge service from brokers to unlock stalled housing deals by renegotiating Section 106 agreements, under plans unveiled by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) on 13 August. The Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government at CLG, announced that brokers will begin work immediately with an initial wave of councils, where they will provide technical expertise and act as go-betweens in disputes. As part of the move, CLG also announced a consultation that proposes giving developers the option to ask councils to renegotiate Section 106 obligations if they were agreed prior to April 2010. Under existing legislation, the agreements cannot be renegotiated for five years once a council refuses a request for voluntary renegotiation by a developer. (Source: DCLG) Green Belt development considered by coalition Reports emerged in the Daily Mail on 17 August that senior members of the coalition had met to discuss the possibility of allowing Green Belt land to be developed in a bid to boost economic growth. The Rt Hon David Cameron MP, Prime Minster; the Rt Hon George Osborne MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer at Her Majestys Treasury (HMT); the Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP, Deputy Prime Minister; and the Rt Hon Danny Alexander MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury at HMT are said by the publication to be considering including the move in an economic regeneration bill, which would fill the legislative time that would have been taken by Lords reform. (Source: Daily Mail) Funding announced for coastal projects The first six seaside towns to receive financial support from the Coastal Communities Fund were announced by Eric Pickles MP on 14 August. The announcement was made in Bournemouth, which will receive 2 million to create Europes first National Coastal Tourism Academy under the 24 million scheme. The fund can be used for projects including skills training, apprenticeships schemes and enterprises that rejuvenate seaside assets or support emerging industries. (Source: DCLG) RICS definition aims for clarity on financial viability The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) published guidance to define financial viability for planners and developers, who are increasingly required to demonstrate that developments are both financially viable and meet the needs of the local community under the National Planning Policy Framework. Financial Viability in Planning, published 13 August, aims to provide an objective and transparent definition that RICS believes will speed up the planning process. (Source: RICS) VAT exemptions confirmed for listed buildings The details of VAT exemptions for alterations to listed buildings were confirmed by ministers, but stopped short of the U-turn called for by campaigners, which were sparked after the March 2012 Budget removed the exemptions for projects beginning after 1 October 2012. Under the new HMT guidance, projects that had applied for listed building consent before the Budget announcement will now qualify. The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, which effectively refunds VAT paid on alterations to religious listed buildings, has also been increased by 30 million a year and will now additionally cover work such as security measures, decoration and changes to kitchens and bathrooms. (Source: Building Design)

Q2 housing starts announced Figures published by CLG on 16 August showed that there were 21,540 house building starts for the second quarter of 2012, a 10 per cent fall on the first three months of the year. The number of starts is now 27 per cent above the trough in the March quarter 2009, but 54 per cent below the December quarter 2005 peak. Completions for the quarter also fell, down six per cent to 29,470. Annual completions, however, rose 8 per cent compared with the previous 12 months, reaching 118,330 in the 12 months to June 2012. (Source: DCLG) Construction jobs rebound The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released figures showing that the construction industry took on 34,000 new people between April and June 2012, compared to the first quarter. The rise, announced on 15 August, took the total number of people employed by the industry to 1,293,000. (Source: Building) Buyer interest held firm in July RICS latest UK Housing Market Report, published on 14 August and covering July 2012, claimed that would-be buyers had maintained interest in July despite the poor weather and the start of the summer holidays. RICS reported that a broadly flat five per cent more chartered surveyors reported falls rather than rises in demand last month, against a background of falling transactions, which hit a four-year low. (Source: RICS) Price of homes outstrips wage increases Research from the National Housing Federation, released on 17 August, revealed that house prices rose three times as much as income over the last ten years. The study showed that the average price of a home had risen 94 per cent since 2001 in comparison to a 29 per cent rise in the average wage over the same period, increasing the ratio between average house price and salary from 7.4 in 2001 to 11.1 in 2011. (Source: NHF)

Transport
Raised cycle network proposed for London A plan to improve Londons transport network by building raised cycleways to link the capitals mainline rail stations was described as very interesting by Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, in a report in The Times, published on 16 August. The proposals were welcomed by the London director of the cycling charity Sustrans, German Dector-Vega, who described the proposals as a great opportunity. (Source: Daily Mail) Lib Dems to consider hub airport backing A policy motion, published by the Liberal Democrats on 16 August to be put before members at the partys autumn conference, outlined support for the creation of a single hub airport in the south-east, but opposed plans for a Thames Estuary airport. The Rt Hon Julian Huppert MP, co-chair of the Lib Dem Parliamentary Party Committee on Transport, is leading the policy and commented: "Liberal Democrats have always opposed a new runway at Heathrow because it is in an appallingly bad location. We recognise, however, that a single, hub airport - rather than a constrained Heathrow with multiple satellite airports - would be better for the environment and better for the economy in the long term." (Source: Planning)

Energy and environment

Fund launched for community projects The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) launched an 8 million fund that allows community groups to install low-carbon heating technology for free. Applications opened on 15 August for not-for-profit groups such as co-operatives, voluntary groups, social enterprises and development trusts to bid for technologies such as solar thermal panels, biomass boilers and heat pumps to be installed into homes in their local area. DECC expects between 50 and 100 schemes to receive funding under the scheme. (Source: Green build News)

IEA announces prospects for renewables The International Energy Association (IEA) forecast a 1,840 terawatt-hour (TWh) increase in renewable energy generation between 2011 and 2017, 60 per cent higher than the rise for the previous six year period (2005-11). The figures were released as part of the industry bodys Medium Term Renewable Energy Market Report 2012, published 14 August, which predicts that global generation from renewables will reach almost 6,400 TWh in 2017. (Source: Power Engineering)

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