13 April 2022
David Zerny, committee member of Three Rivers Joint RA, writes:
On 31 March 2022 Jon Bishop, Barry Grant, Rue Grewal and I, representing Three Rivers Joint Residents Association (TRJRA), met local MPs Dean Russell (Watford) and Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) at the Houses of Parliament about Three Rivers District Council’s reluctance to challenge the Government housing target in its Local Plan (LP). Residents were concerned that the current draft LP only met the target at the cost of building on the Green Belt. Instead, the figure should be based on local needs and local constraints. The MPs were sympathetic to this approach.
We were pleased to be joined by Stuart Andrew MP, Minister for Housing. He outlined his feelings about planning, having had a background in planning as a councillor in Leeds.
- He clearly has a strong belief in Localism, the power of Neighbourhood Plans and the need to involve local communities in decision-making.
- He understands the concerns of communities about damage to Green Belt and the pressure that the current housing targets are causing.
- He is working on the new Planning Bill, which is expected to be tabled in the coming parliamentary session (starting in May).
When we outlined our wish to get an LP in place by the 2023 deadline with a housing target lower than that given by the Standard Methodology, but sufficient to deliver the new housing needed by the local community whilst protecting Green Belt, the Minister appeared supportive but was not in a position to commit himself. He did, however, respond to other questions and comments we put to him.
- We pointed out that the PPG did not spell out the need to apply paragraph 11.b) of the NPPF, which accepts that certain types of land (Green Belt, National Parks, AONB, SSSI and Heritage Sites) can provide a strong reason for restricting the overall scale, type or distribution of development. This omission leads Planning Officers and Planning Inspectors to not fully applying this protection in their development and review of new LPs. We suggested that something aligned to this should be added to paragraph 2 of the Planning Practice Guidance on Housing and Economic Needs Assessment.
This was not something the Minister had specifically thought about, but he agreed it might make sense and he would take this back to his Department to look at further.
- The Minister was asked if he could reassure Three Rivers District Council that if they put forward a draft LP for a housing total which, to protect Green Belt, is lower than that calculated using the Standard Method but which meets verifiable, locally-calculated, Objective Assessed Housing Needs, then the Inspector will not be required to over-ride the LP on the basis of the proposed total alone?
The Minister did not give a firm answer to this as he was clear that Planning Inspectors are independent from government. However, in principle, this was something he agreed with, and his view was aligned to that previously stated by Christopher Pincher MP. The Standard Methodology was only the starting point, and councils could vary from this if they could justify it. He indicated that a couple of councils had already had LPs with lower numbers approved.
- Gagan Mohindra asked the Minister if, in the case that Three Rivers did not put a new LP in place by December 2023, whether his Department would take over planning from the council. The Minister indicated that this would not fit with his belief in Localism and resources could be an issue.
We also discussed Councils’ Duty to Co-operate with neighbouring Local Planning Authorities (LPAs), lack of compliance with which Inspectors have frequently cited as the reason to reject draft LPs that fall short of the Standard Method target. We pointed out the huge burden of compliance that this places on LPAs; the domino effect it initiates throughout the South East (because almost all LPAs have similar land constraints); and the absence of overall supervision such a process needs from a higher authority. The Minister acknowledged that this process didn’t work. We understand that this duty may be removed in the forthcoming Planning Bill.
The Minister introduced the concept of BIDIN – Beautiful, Infrastructure, Democratic process, Improves environment and good Neighbourhood.
The Minister and MPs acknowledged the huge amount of time and effort the TRJRA had put into convincing our LPA to complete its draft LP on time and with a housing figure that took into account its land constraints.