Give communities power over planning to achieve housebuilding goals

A new report from think tank New Local warns that the government’s plans for housebuilding targets will be at risk unless the planning system gives communities more power and influence to shape local development.

The report, Constructing Consensus: The case for community-powered development and regeneration, argues that deeper community involvement is key to speeding up building plans and ensuring quality and sustainability.

The report challenges assumptions that local communities are dominated by NIMBY’s – and are intrinsically anti-development. Instead, it argues that deeper community involvement can increase building projects’ quality, speed, and acceptance.

New Local calls for more powers and resources for local authorities, strengthening a planning system that has been stripped back in recent years by funding cuts. It argues that local authorities need stronger place-shaping powers to respond to community priorities and bring local voices into planning.

The report calls on the government to:

Fund citizens assemblies on New Towns to ensure developments respond to community priorities about what makes a place liveable.
Require deeper community involvement in the National Planning Policy Framework, currently under revision.
Introduce a Planning Gain Tax to simplify the system of developer contributions via separately negotiated Section 106 Agreements.
Use forthcoming English devolution legislation to increase opportunities for community ownership.

The potential to transform the system is illustrated by dozens of national and international examples, including:

A council in Hampshire running deliberative engagement to involve local people in housing development plans and town centre regeneration schemes
International examples Vienna and Zurich where targeted regulation and a more empowered local state has produced more affordable, high quality and sustainable housing.
Community-run regeneration projects transforming neglected neighbourhoods in Plymouth, Hastings and Grimsby.

Imran Hashmi, report co-author and senior researcher at New Local, says:

“We need to build more homes. The Government’s planned local housing targets need to be matched with new powers to give communities more influence over development and regeneration plans. The outcome needn’t be quality versus quantity. Our research shows that we can shift from adversarial to an enabling system by giving communities more influence to shape development and ensure it meets local needs.”

The report was supported by Browne Jacobson and Local Partnerships.

Martin Walker, Senior Director at Local Partnerships says:

“The reintroduction of mandatory housing targets is a game-changer for local authorities and their role in the housing market. From our own work, we know there are many factors that impact councils’ ability to deliver against these targets. This report from New Local is a very valuable, and timely, contribution which sets out how community engagement may help, rather than hinder, new housing developments to meet housing need.”

Zo Hoida, Real Estate Partner at Browne Jacobson says:

“We would be delighted to see deeper and more meaningful engagement with communities within the projects that we work on as our regeneration practice is underlined by a vision of improving places for those that live work and play in them.”

Notes to Editors

To download the full report please visit: www.newlocal.org.uk/constructingconsensus 21 October
For media inquiries or to or request an interview with one of our experts please contact: Katy Oglethorpe, katy@newlocal.org.uk / 0791 2161 536
New Local is an independent think tank and network of councils, with a mission to transform public services and unlock community power.
Constructing Consensus is based on extensive research, including interviews with local authorities, community groups, developers, and policymakers, as well as analysis of case studies from the UK and abroad.
The report was supported by Browne Jacobson and Local Partnerships

Join our mailing list