Noble Francis’ Post

North Somerset Council have published the pre-submission version of their new Local Plan (Regulation 19). The document will be considered at a meeting next week to approve it for public consultation before the end of the year. See below for a link to the committee papers and attached an abridged version of the document containing the key strategic policies and schedule of allocations relating to housing. https://lnkd.in/eaFVTadJ The principal changes between the Preferred Options (Reg 18) draft plan and the pre-submission (Reg 19) version are summarised as follows: • The 15 year plan period has been revised from 2023-2038 to 2024-2039. • The standard method target of 20,880 dwellings is replaced by a minimum locally derived housing requirement of 14,902 dwellings 2024-2039. • Three proposed Green Belt sites, including the strategic location at Yanley Lane (Woodspring golf course) are no longer proposed to be allocated. • There is significantly less growth proposed at Nailsea/Backwell in the absence of strategic highway mitigations and this area is no longer identified as a strategic location for growth. • Instead of three strategic growth locations there is proposed to be just one at Wolvershill (north of Banwell) to accommodate some 2,800 dwellings. • Additional employment provision is identified at M5 J20 Clevedon to address longer term needs requiring good access to the motorway. The plan reflects in microcosm the current debate at national level around housing and planning. Spurred on by the proposed changes in the NPPF consultation earlier this year, the Council have put forward a locally derived housing need figure that is circa 6,000 homes short of the standard method derived figure. This is driven largely by the removal of greenbelt sites previously identified at preferred options stage, although even at that stage the plan was around 3,000 homes short of the target. It illustrates what we could expect to see up and down the country, if housing targets become advisory. However, it is a big gamble by the Council, given the prevarication by Government over housing changes following the backlash to their proposals, and the more pro-development stance that has been outlined at the recent Labour conference. Even if housing targets become advisory and examination takes place under a Conservative government, will the evidence meet the ‘high bar’ required to depart from housing need? If not then a lot of new sites will be needed and so it is particularly important to respond to the forthcoming consultation if your site has been omitted. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require assistance or would simply like to discuss the implications. 

Tomorrow’s national cabinet meeting is set to deal with the housing crisis. According to media reports, the PM is confident of getting the States and Territories to agree to planning reforms to tackle the housing crisis. Below is an extract from a report prepared by the Centre for International Econmics. The points below could have been written last week about the NSW planning system. But no - they were written a decade ago in response to the NSW Government’s April 2013 White Paper on Planning Reform. Every State and Territory has run numerous inquires into the planning system over the past 10 years and we get the same conclusions “here are a list of major reforms that will improve the efficiency of the planning system and enhance housing supply” but nothing happens. Each of the major planning, property and community housing associations have provided substantial evidence of what is wrong. They have also articulated sound recommendations to create an efficient planning system that delivers good design, certainty of outcomes and creates livable, sustainable, and resilient urban centres that enhance the quality of life for residents. So to the PM, the Premiers and Chief Ministers I urge you not to make motherhood statements for your 30 second 6pm news slot or your social media post or even worse call for more enquires into the planning system and housing supply. It’s time for real action!!! Michael Zorbas Wendy Hayhurst Nicholas Proud Michael Fotheringham Planning Institute of Australia Property Council of Australia PowerHousing Australia Community Housing Industry Association NHFIC (The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation) Anthony Albanese Annastacia Palaszczuk Chris Minns Dan Andrews Peter Malinauskas Roger Cook Andrew Barr Jeremy Rockliff Natasha Fyles Julie Collins Sean Macken

Mark Bouris AM crunches the numbers on the housing crisis in Australia and confirms what many already know: they don't add up: In his words: - Ask any economist and they’ll tell you that prices and rents are growing faster than wages. - Ask any real estate agent and they’ll tell you that rental vacancies are near all-time lows. - Ask any public servant and they’ll tell you that there’s 169,000 people on public housing waiting lists. - Ask any charity worker and they’ll tell you that 122,000 people are currently homeless. - Right now there’s 290,000 people who are either homeless or on the public housing waitlist in this country. That’s the same population as Wagga Wagga, Goulburn, Albury and Toowoomba combined! Mark highlights the well-known fact that the construction sector is not up to challenge: - Building material costs have skyrocketed since Covid. - Soaring interest rates have made it harder for property developers to get projects off the ground. - Labour shortages are crippling construction companies. Finally, we can all agree that now is the time to look hard at the problem and its myriad causes honestly. AND take action now. Tackling the construction crisis is a key way to address the housing crisis. There has been a lightbulb finally going on across government and private sectors that Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) or "Smart Building" is necessary to address the housing supply issue. MMC or Smart Building is not new, it is well known and used, and it has been ready for the challenge for a very long time. The time is NOW to move to widespread adoption. In fact, developments not using MMC should have to explain why. The government has a role not only in supporting or considering MMC, but in mandating it given the proven benefits of output productivity, high quality, local jobs creation, workforce diversity and sustainability. The time is now. As Mark says, "We owe it to our children". #MMC #BlinkDMI #HousingCrisis #ConstructionCrisis #Government #TimeForAction https://lnkd.in/gUVCzxFU

In my opinion, if the story were true, while what’s proposed might not be government policy, the purported planning paper provides an insight into the mindset of the leadership in Planning (1st comment), whose advice appears inconsistent with their own laws and policies. Inner West Council ….. By Max Maddison and Michael McGowan 6/3/24 …. Prepared ahead of a December 14 meeting between Planning Minister Paul Scully, senior departmental figures and eight Sydney mayors, the document outlined a slew of previously confidential details about the reforms announced just a week earlier. It detailed each pillar of the government’s proposed changes but also provided insights into how they would impact the Inner West. For areas up to 800 metres from transport hubs and town centres in medium-density zones and “appropriate employment zones”, mid-rise apartment blocks up to six storeys will be allowed. “For the Inner West, which is entirely mapped as ‘well located’, this will mean … that six-storey apartments will be possible across the LGA (even though some consolidation is required),” the document states. The detail goes beyond analysis done by Inner West Council staff, who in a critical report prepared ahead of a February 13 council meeting found the state government’s suite of reforms would affect 75-80 per cent of the LGA. Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne said the concept of allowing six-storey apartment blocks “in every single street is absurd, and we would fight hard against such a simplistic proposal. I don’t know if rezoning the whole of the Inner West is just another bureaucrat’s thought bubble, but this contradicts public statements of the premier and the planning minister,” he said. “Frustratingly, we are still waiting for them to provide dwelling targets. Once we have the dwelling numbers we will work through the best places to locate the new housing.”…. …,In response to questions from the Herald, Scully dismissed concerns the entire LGA would solely be comprised of mid-rise apartments. He also noted recent Homelessness NSW analysis showed a 20 per cent increase in people seeking homelessness services in the Inner West in the latest financial year. “But the idea that the entire LGA will be reshaped to only include mid-rise apartment blocks is fanciful and designed to scaremonger,” he said. “It remains the Council’s responsibility to assess a development based on a range of criteria including overshadowing, congestion, light, design and privacy, among other considerations.” In early December, the government announced a suite of reforms to tackle the state’s housing crisis, including 39 development zones around transport hubs which would be subject to densification, and low-and-mid-rise uplift across Greater Sydney. Eight “tier one” transport-orientated districts (TODs) will undergo massive uplift, while 31 smaller zones (tier two zones) around train stations between Newcastle and Wollongong will be subject to rezoning on a smaller scale.

Well done to Anthony Albanese for implementing a solution to the housing crisis: building 1.2 million homes in 5 years. State leaders, alongside the PM, have agreed on reforms to make it happen. A $3-billion fund incentivises reforms, rewarding states that exceed the 1M home target with $15,000 per extra residence. This ambitious plan, starting July 2024, aims to boost affordability and address the lack of supply. Key figures in the property sector are supporting the idea, emphasising coordinated efforts for accessible housing. #HousingSolution #AustraliaProperty #development #propertydevelopment #propertyjobs

Capital city Lord Mayors release new data on housing supply, call on Federal Parliament to unlock more affordable housing The Council of Capital City Lord Mayors (CCCLM) has called on the Senate to pass the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) and deliver thousands of affordable homes for key workers and vulnerable Australians. CCCLM chair and City of Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp said funding needs to be directed where it’s needed most. Data from Australia’s capital cities show that collectively they have over 50,000 approved residential housing projects yet to see shovels in the ground. “Australia's capital cities are amongst the most expensive places to live in the world, but their high amenity, services, infrastructure and access to jobs make them the best-placed to accommodate more housing,” Lord Mayor Capp said. "Commentators often point to planning and zoning as the reason for lack of housing supply. Yet, in capital cities, we have a strong pipeline of approved homes that are not being built, in part due to the cost of construction and current market conditions." “We are experiencing an acute shortage of well-located Affordable Housing, pricing people out of their communities and leaving essential workers, like the nurses and teachers who keep our cities running, without a place to live.” "Capital city councils are part of the solution, but we can’t go it alone," says the Lord Mayor. “HAFF is designed to support the delivery of social and affordable housing. All levels of government need to work in lockstep with Community Housing Providers to build more housing, now.” “To begin easing the housing crisis we need to get the HAFF up and running and shovels in the ground.” "In the City of Melbourne alone, we have an approved pipeline of 22,000 apartments. The Federal Government’s target is 30,000 affordable homes over the next five years." #affordablehousing #communityhousing

A lot of strands are coming together around CLTs and #affordablehomes in this Mayoral and general election year: 🏡 Support for community-led housing – stated in the Government’s just-published National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) 🏡 Recognition of the potential of small sites for new homes (GLA Housing Delivery Taskforce) 🏡 The vital part a decent, stable home plays in physical and mental health… 🏡 And the long-term savings that providing decent affordable homes can bring the NHS and more (GLA). Will these translate into consistent and effective policy that supports CLTs to do what we do best: build more community-led, permanently and genuinely #affordablehomes? This year and beyond? We hope so. 😊 Community Land Trust Network community led housing london Greater London Authority Mayor of London #communitylandtrust #communityledhousing #affordablehousing 👉 NPPF https://lnkd.in/d6XzEX6 👉 GLA's London Housing Delivery Taskforce statement https://lnkd.in/eVFkUxEm

"Devon and Torbay are entering into a devolution deal, and housing is a strand of that. It is positive that housing is recognised, but I think creates some challenges in the way that the districts and the proposed combined authority will work together. But I think there are real opportunities there, as well those challenges." "In Devon itself, we essentially don’t have enough affordable housing. That’s one of the key things. The key issue, which I think is the same everywhere, but you see some real low, low levels of affordable housing in some of our areas and you also see every single district in Devon has a higher affordability ratio, that is the salary to to house price ratio, than the England average. We don’t have any districts that are below that. And we see the increases in housing price being high in Devon as well." #housing In Housing Today, the head of the Devon Housing Commission, Matthew Dodd, speaks to Jordan Marshall about how the commission was set up, its work so far and the issues effecting housing delivery in Devon. https://lnkd.in/eVeHuWdT

The blueprint to remedy Australia’s worst housing supply shortage in generations has been rejigged with a new target to build 1.2 million homes over five years. Critical to the plan is a raft of reforms agreed by state and territory leaders at the national cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Brisbane. The clincher? A $3-billion carrot to incentivise the implementation of the reforms to bolster housing stocks and increase affordability. States and territories that build more than their share of the one million well-located home target under the National Housing Accord will get a slice of the performance-based funding—amounting to $15,000 per extra residence. “All governments recognise the best way to ensure that more Australians have a safe and affordable place to call home is to boost housing supply," Albanese said after Wednesday’s national cabinet meeting. Click here to read the full story: https://lnkd.in/gjkesST4 Author: Phil Bartsch

Planning barometer report highlights risk of total housing failure An already severe housing crisis has become significantly worse in the past 12 months, according to a new national survey of planning authorities in England and Wales. The reasons are manifold, with the finger pointed at a “broken” planning system, as well as a range of “multi-faceted issues” that are preventing the delivery of new homes the country needs. Widespread failure “It’s all too easy to blame the planning system. That it’s broken is not in dispute, but it alone is not to blame for the failure to deliver homes. Public policy, government funding, market provision, community interest and discretionary decision-making at planning committees are all at play in the response to the social and economic need for homes. “The actions and agendas of multiple actors make the issue of housing delivery a highly complex one to grapple with, and there is no silver bullet. We’re at a tipping point and need change from all those working to deliver the homes the country needs.” In other findings, the National Planning Barometer 2024 also finds an overwhelming majority of councillors are not in favour of government proposals to publish league tables of local authorities’ planning performance, with 81% saying these would have no influence over their decision making. #UKHousing https://lnkd.in/e4HUx6ff