Leveling Up and Regeneration Act: Transforming the Planning System in the UK
October 26, 2023
Introduction
New laws came into force today to speed up the planning system, hold developers accountable, reduce bureaucracy, and encourage the construction of new homes. These measures, enshrined in the Leveling and Regeneration Act, signal the government’s commitment to delivering one million homes in this Parliament. The act aims to address the need for affordable housing, enhance local infrastructure, empower local communities, and create neighborhoods where people want to live and work.
Secretary of State for Levelling, Housing and Communities, Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, stated, “Our historic Regeneration and Leveling Up Act will deliver more homes for communities across the country and unleash uplift in brownfield sites. It will provide revitalized high streets and town centres. A faster, less bureaucratic planning system where developers are held accountable. More beautiful homes built next to GP surgeries, schools, and transport links, and environmental improvement. Communities take back control of their future with new powers to shape their local area. And our long-term leveling missions are enshrined in law. This Bill delivers on people’s priorities, creating new jobs, new opportunities, and a better future for the UK.”
Key Provisions of the Leveling Up and Regeneration Act
The Leveling Up and Regeneration Act introduces a range of measures aimed at transforming town centers, boosting local services, rebalancing the housing and land markets, encouraging developers to start building, and bringing life back to high streets. These provisions are expected to have a significant impact on community development, regeneration, and the overall quality of life in the UK. The key provisions of the act include:
1. Putting Local People at the Center of Development
- Facilitating the implementation of local plans that align with the needs and aspirations of communities.
- Requiring design codes that define where and how homes will be built, ensuring developments are harmonious with the local environment.
- Delivering more homes in a way that works for communities.
2. Boosting Local Services
- Requiring developers to deliver vital infrastructure such as schools, medical offices, and public services.
- Ending the construction of lifeless developments on the outskirts of cities without community assets.
- Meeting the essential needs and expectations of communities.
3. Rebalancing the Housing and Land Markets
- Granting councils the power to increase council tax on empty homes, discouraging property owners from leaving homes vacant.
- Reforming compensation for compulsory purchase orders by removing the “hope value” where justified.
- Ensuring a fair and equitable housing and land market.
4. Encouraging Developers to Start Building
- Providing communities with regular updates on development progress.
- Giving councils the opportunity to consider slow building rates when approving planning applications.
- Promoting timely and efficient construction.
5. Bringing Life Back to High Streets
- Empowering local authorities to work directly with landlords to repurpose empty buildings for use by local businesses and community groups.
- Establishing high street rental auctions to revitalize town centers.
- Making it quicker for local authorities to grant permission for hospitality businesses to use outdoor seating.
- Reviving and rejuvenating high streets and supporting local businesses.
Transforming Town Centers: A New Era of Collaboration
The Leveling Up and Regeneration Act provides councils with essential powers to collaborate with landlords and breathe new life into town centers. By working directly with property owners, local authorities can ensure that empty buildings are repurposed to support vibrant local businesses and community initiatives. This collaboration will bring back foot traffic, create employment opportunities, and restore the vitality of high streets.
The Act also introduces high street rental auctions, enabling local authorities to efficiently allocate vacant spaces to interested businesses and community groups. This innovative approach will foster a sense of entrepreneurship, encourage diversity in business types, and contribute to a thriving local economy.
Moreover, the Act acknowledges the impact of the pandemic on the hospitality industry and formalizes the temporary relaxation of outdoor seating rules into a permanent feature of high streets. This decision ensures that local hospitality businesses can continue to utilize outdoor spaces, attract customers, and enhance their profitability.
Tackling Inequality: Ensuring Balanced Development
The Leveling Up and Regeneration Act reinforces the government’s commitment to addressing inequality by implementing leveling up missions and strengthening devolution. One key provision of the Act is to ensure that all areas in England that desire a devolution deal can have one by 2030. This move empowers local communities, enabling them to take control of their future and shape their local area according to their specific needs and aspirations.
Furthermore, the Act aims to rebalance the housing and land markets by granting councils the power to increase council tax on empty homes. This measure aims to discourage property owners from leaving homes vacant, incentivizing them to bring properties back into use. In addition, compensation for compulsory purchase orders will be reformed, removing the speculative “hope value” component. These reforms ensure fairness in housing and land transactions, preventing excessive financial gain at the expense of communities.
Creating Sustainable and Beautiful Communities
A core objective of the Leveling Up and Regeneration Act is to create new developments that are not only functional but also aesthetically pleasing, environmentally sustainable, and responsive to the needs of local communities. The Act emphasizes the importance of designing and constructing beautiful homes next to essential facilities such as GP surgeries, schools, and transportation links.
The Act also recognizes the significance of natural landscapes and protected areas, enhancing the national network of nature-rich protected landscapes. By investing in preserving and enhancing these areas, the Act ensures that future generations can enjoy the beauty of the natural environment. In addition, the Act grants powers to adapt environmental assessment processes to better reflect current environmental priorities and reduce bureaucratic delays.
Conclusion
The Leveling Up and Regeneration Act represents a pivotal moment in the planning system in the UK. By implementing measures to speed up the planning process, hold developers accountable, reduce bureaucracy, and encourage the construction of new homes, the Act aims to address the pressing need for affordable housing, empower local communities, and revitalize town centers. Through collaboration between councils and landlords, the act seeks to transform empty buildings into vibrant spaces for local businesses and community initiatives. Additionally, the Act supports devolution, balances the housing and land markets, and creates sustainable and beautiful communities. With these transformative provisions, the Leveling Up and Regeneration Act sets the stage for a future where communities can thrive and enjoy a high quality of life.
Summary
The Leveling Up and Regeneration Act, which has received royal consent after being passed as a law, aims to transform the planning system in the UK. This act seeks to speed up the planning process, hold developers accountable, reduce bureaucracy, and facilitate the construction of new homes. By placing local people at the center of development and requiring design codes, the act ensures that new homes are built in a way that aligns with the needs and aspirations of communities. The act also emphasizes the importance of boosting local services, rebalancing the housing and land markets, and encouraging developers to start building. Furthermore, the act aims to bring life back to high streets by empowering local authorities to work with landlords and repurpose empty buildings for local businesses and community groups. The act also supports devolution and strives to create sustainable and beautiful communities. Overall, the Leveling Up and Regeneration Act sets the stage for a future where communities can thrive, housing needs are met, and town centers are revitalized.
—————————————————-
| Article | Link |
|---|---|
| UK Artful Impressions | Premiere Etsy Store |
| Sponsored Content | View |
| 90’s Rock Band Review | View |
| Ted Lasso’s MacBook Guide | View |
| Nature’s Secret to More Energy | View |
| Ancient Recipe for Weight Loss | View |
| MacBook Air i3 vs i5 | View |
| You Need a VPN in 2023 – Liberty Shield | View |
New laws came into force today (26 October 2023) to speed up the planning system, hold developers to account, reduce bureaucracy and encourage more councils to implement plans to enable the construction of new homes.
These measures have been enshrined in law after the Leveling and Regeneration Bill received royal consent.
The Government is on track to deliver on its manifesto commitment to deliver one million homes in this Parliament, and earlier this year the Housing Secretary set out his long term housing plan and how we build the right houses in the right places.
The Leveling Up and Regeneration Bill is at the heart of this long-term plan and will ensure that new developments are built more beautifully, produce more local infrastructure such as GP surgeries, schools and transport links, are made up of the democratic wishes of local people, improve the environment and create neighborhoods where people want to live and work.
Building more homes in the areas most in need is a key part of leveling up, and the Bill will also provide additional measures to support regeneration in communities left behind.
Secretary of State for Levelling, Housing and Communities, Rt Hon Michael Gove MP said:
Our historic Regeneration and Leveling Up Act will deliver more homes for communities across the country and unleash uplift in brownfield sites.
It will provide revitalized high streets and town centres. A faster, less bureaucratic planning system where developers are held accountable. More beautiful homes built next to GP surgeries, schools and transport links, and environmental improvement. Communities take back control of their future with new powers to shape their local area. And our long-term leveling missions are enshrined in law.
This Bill delivers on people’s priorities, creating new jobs, new opportunities and a better future for the UK.
The Bill creates new laws that will transform town centers by giving councils powers to work directly with landlords to get empty buildings back into use by local businesses and community groups, bringing life back to empty high streets.
And following a temporary relaxation of rules on outdoor seating in cafes, pubs and restaurants during the pandemic, the Act will officially make this a permanent part of our high street, helping local hospitality businesses to thrive.
The Act also consolidates our commitment to tackling inequality through leveling up missions, including strengthening devolution by ensuring that all areas of England that want a devolution deal can have one by 2030.
The government has so far invested £12.9 billion to improve projects across the UK, creating jobs, improving transport and protecting community spaces.
The measures in the Leveling Up and Regeneration Act will help communities and local authorities transform their local areas, complementing government investment in projects that will help regenerate derelict areas.
The measures of the Leveling and Regeneration Law:
- Put local people at the center of development, facilitating the implementation of local plans and requiring design codes that set out where homes will be built and what they will look like. These plans will deliver more homes in a way that works for communities.
- Boost local services, requiring developers to deliver vital infrastructure. This will put an end to lifeless developments on the outskirts of the city without community assets and ensure developers provide the schools, medical offices and public services that communities need and expect. More details on these measures will be provided soon.
- Rebalance the housing and land markets, giving councils the power to increase council tax on empty homes and reform compensation for compulsory purchase orders by removing the “hope value” where justified.
- Encourage developers to start building, providing communities with updates on development progress and giving councils the opportunity to consider slow building rates when approving planning.
- Bringing life back to high streets – giving councils powers to work directly with landlords to bring empty buildings back into use by local businesses and community groups through high street rental auctions. It will also make it quicker for local authorities to give hospitality businesses permission to use outdoor seating.
The Act will ensure that the homes we need are built where they are needed in urban areas rather than being concreted in the countryside, which is why the Act will enhance our national network of beautiful nature-rich protected landscapes that can be enjoyed across the country. . .
It also grants powers to adapt environmental assessment to better reflect current pressures on the environment and meet the nation’s environmental priorities. This reduces the onerous EU bureaucracy that delayed evaluations.
Royal Town Planning Institute chief executive Victoria Hills said:
This legislation brings our profession one step closer to executing plans and decisions that will improve places. The Government must now engage frequently with planners to ensure that the new regulations and policy changes permitted by this Act work as intended to deliver more homes, attract more investment for growth and raise the standard of our country.
The planning system has already received a boost in the summer, with an extra £37.5m for councils to boost staffing, including a new £24m to tackle backlogs and £13.5m as part of the plan in the long term for housing that will improve skills. the sector with new super planning teams.
The government will in due course publish its response to the consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework held last December. This will set out how planning policies in England are expected to be applied to help build the right homes in the right places.
—————————————————-