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Autumn Statement and Spending Review 2015: move large-scale housing projects to Nationally Significant Infrastructure regime, says expert


The UK government must consider including large-scale housing development projects within the special planning regime for infrastructure projects of national significance if it is to meet its target of 400,000 new homes by the end of the decade, an expert has said.

Iain Gilbey of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, welcomed the funding commitments for new housing included in the government's Comprehensive Spending Review. However, he said that it would be difficult to deliver "eye-watering numbers" of new homes without real commitment from central and local government to large-scale housing delivery.

"There is a clear imperative for central government to show strong political leadership in driving large-scale housing development in the national public interest," he said. "Without a national solution, the government may fail to deliver."

"With the National Infrastructure Commission now launched, we need to see links between infrastructure and housing as a top priority in the Commission alongside transport and energy storage, so that its work can dovetail with these government initiatives on housing and help remove the blockages to housing delivery. Without greater local authority and Department for Communities and Local Government resource and a cross-district or sub-regional approach to large scale projects 'in principle', it will be difficult to see how these numbers will, in practice, be delivered," he said.

The chancellor used his 2015 Autumn Statement and Spending Review to announce "the biggest house building programme by any government since the 1970s", with a target of 400,000 affordable new homes by the end of the decade. Almost half of these would be built under the Starter Homes scheme, to be sold at 20% off market value to young first time buyers; while a further 135,000 would be built under a new Help to Buy scheme aimed at shared ownership, he said.

These initiatives would be backed by "further reforms to our planning system so it delivers more homes more quickly", the chancellor said in his speech. These include a new 'delivery' test for local authorities, to ensure housing commitments set out in Local Plans are delivered within a reasonable time frame; a commitment to release public sector land for housing with capacity for 160,000 new homes; and committing to the release of unused and previously undeveloped commercial, retail and industrial land for Starter Homes.

The Housing and Planning Bill, which is currently before parliament, will amend the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) consent regime to include certain projects "with an element of housing". Currently, any housing provision disqualifies a project from the NSIP regime. The plans as currently proposed will allow homes that are "wholly in England" and either "on the same site as, next to or close to" or "otherwise associated with" an NSIP to be included within the relevant permissions. However, related guidance is likely to impose a limit of 500 homes on any one project.

"Many will argue that the UK government has failed to grasp the delivery 'nettle' in offering a compromise on the inclusion of housing, but only for up to 500 homes, as part of NSIPs," said housing expert Iain Gilbey.

"Today's announcements appear to reinforce the UK government's commitment to delivering a wider variety and number of homes in its lifetime. The question is whether these initiatives will lead to genuine affordability for those currently excluded from traditional housing types – or will be delivered at a scale that will affect house prices and house price inflation, particularly in the South East 'hot spots'," he said.

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