NPPF changes do not go far enough, says Construction Industry Council

The Construction Industry Council (CIC) is calling for reform of permitted development rights in its response to the government’s consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework.

The pan-industry body is also urging government to channel greater resources into strategic planning and to strengthen support for retrofit first.

CIC said it is “is hugely supportive of government’s ambition to accelerate housebuilding and that it backed many reforms.” But it added: “Without extra funding for affordable housing in the budget this ambition could not be realised as many schemes will remain unviable.”

Professor Tony Crook CBE, Chair of CIC’s Housing Panel, said: “We support what the government is doing, including much of the detail in the NPPF, such as reintroduction of local mandatory housing targets. However, the NPPF will not be able to deliver on its own, and there is a real risk that without addressing other changes needed, government will fall well short of its housebuilding ambitions.”

In its response to the consultation, CIC has highlighted concerns about the government’s proposals, including:

A failure to address the poor quality that often characterises housing created under Permitted Development Rights (PDR). The CIC says it fears more new homes could be created through this mechanism without a new approach to build quality.
The need to tackle resources in planning after so many years of underfunding. The CIC supports carrying out more specialist planning on a regional level.
The policy of “encouraging” the reuse of existing resources including the conversion of existing buildings is insufficiently strongly worded in the NPPF.

Mina Hasman, chair of CIC’s Climate Change Committee said: “The newly planned homes are expected to face some of the most severe and long-lasting impacts of climate change making it imperative that they are designed to be both resilient and low carbon. It is therefore, critical that our planning policies support homes built to an ambitious Future Homes Standard and drive the successful adoption of Blue-Green Infrastructure including SuDS. The policy of encouraging the reuse of existing resources within the NPPF should be strengthened to better incentivise retrofitting, improve design solutions, and dramatically reduce waste and carbon emissions in line with government’s stated commitment to a more circular economy.”

CIC also highlighted the skills shortage across many professionals and trades, which it said needed urgent addressing for house building targets to be met.