Council chief talks of ‘critical need’ to identify land for housing
THE chief executive of Stockport Council has spoken of the “critical need” to identify land to meet the target of 220,000 new homes in Greater Manchester in the next 20 years.
Eamonn Boylan was speaking at a Planning Briefing organised by Manchester- based planning specialists HOW Planning, along with Regeneris Consulting and Nabarro.
Boylan’s comments followed an address by guest speaker Jane Everton, the deputy director of planning at the Department for Communities and Local Government, in the wake of the newly-launched Housing & Planning Bill to 180 guests at Alderley Park Conference Centre in Cheshire.
She said: “The new Conservative Government has laid down a clear manifesto outlining a strong commitment to the delivery of new homes and the new Bill outlines how it aims to deliver on these commitments. Planning is once again centre stage nationally, enhanced by recent high profile announcements by both the Prime Minister and Chancellor.
“There is a huge ambition for starter homes, with the figure doubled by the new Conservative Government from 100,000 to 200,000 per year by 2020; a figure which is backed up by a commitment to ensure 90% of sustainable brownfield sites have planning permission for new housing in the same time period.”
Boylan said: “In Greater Manchester we have our own challenge to meet a target of 220,000 new homes over the next 20 years so there is a critical need to identify land to meet development aspirations.
“We need to maximise existing land supply, increase densities and improve mechanisms for bringing brownfield land forward for development.
“By working in collaboration I’m confident that the Greater Manchester Spatial Strategy will deliver on its aims.”
Stephen Nicol of Manchester-based Regeneris Consulting also addressed the issue of housing need.
He said that since the publication of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) his company had been in the thick of the debate about how to go about “objectively assessed need for housing”.
“Although national guidance has been produced on how to assess housing need, there have been extremely wide interpretations of what this means in practice,” he said.
“This has led to a plethora of approaches and a wide range of numbers as a consequence. However, gradually decisions by inspectors and to some extent the courts are beginning to narrow down the range of interpretations and a good practice industry approach is beginning to emerge as outlined by our speakers today.”
The event was chaired by HOW’s managing partner, Gary Halman.
