The new Housing and Planning Bill proposes a radical move to permitting development through ‘Permission in Principle’ (PiP) on identified brownfield sites or others identified in the development plan.
Concerns over the lack of design control this will bring have been raised by many including the Place Alliance which warns “It raises the big question, how will design and place quality be guaranteed through this new system? It is only by delivering high quality new homes and places that the vital support of communities will be guaranteed for the new housing the nation clearly needs.”
The Bill itself makes provision for a new process of ‘Technical details consent’ to be determined in accordance with PiP. The technical details along with the Permission in Principle will form the planning permission. It is proposed that design would be one of the matters for consideration at the technical details stage.
To guide and capitalise on this the Place Alliance is advocating the production of a simple ‘Coordinating code’ for each allocated site. It says “Design codes are tools that establish the key urban design parameters for a site with a particular focus on making the place, but without the requirement for a detailed masterplan. Their use is encouraged in para. 59 of the NPPF. Coordinating codes would be slimmed down simple codes that, on a single sheet, establish the critical principles for making the place.”
Describing how Codes might be structured and what might be included in the Codes Place Alliance writes:
Stemming from debates at Big Meet 4 (last October), supporters of Place Alliance have had considerable concerns over what the proposed new provisions would mean for the important role of the planning system in place-making. Place Alliance has therefore:
- Jointly hosed, with Urban Design London, a seminar on the issues which attracted around 100 delegates to debate Permission in Principle
- Raised issues through its evidence to the House of Lords Select Committee on the Built Environment that were subsequently included in its recommendations
- Engaged in direct discussions with DCLG over these concerns.
- Prepared proposed amendments to the Housing and Planning Bill that were subsequently tabled by Baroness Whitaker and Lord Best in the House of Lords.
Given that Permission in Principle will soon be on the statute books, and despite continuing reservations by many, Place Alliance has sought to pragmatically investigate how the new provisions might be used positively to achieve both the Government’s aim of greater certainly in the planning process, whilst still enabling the proper consideration of design and other qualitative concerns through the planning system.
The proposed solution is the use of ‘coordinating codes’ alongside the grant of Permission in Principle. This is explained alongside a worked example prepared jointly with Studio REAL in the attached document. We soon hope to be in a position to trial and refine the method.
Responding in Parliament to proposed amendments to the Permission in Principle clauses of the Housing and Planning Bill, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced that such codes could be used alongside and referred to in Permission in Principle. Given the significance of such designation and the minimal amount of time and resources required to prepare coordinating codes, we argue that their preparation should be mandatory for all sites given Permission in Principle.
We would urge all supporters argue likewise.
Post your responses by Friday 15th April. (Survey now closed 16/04/2016)
Place Alliance is a movement for place quality and brings together organisations, including IHBC, and individuals who share the belief that the quality of our built environment has a profound influence on people’s lives.
