Planning Policy Statement Three (PPS3)
 PPG3 Fears Allayed
Plans to allow Regional Planning Bodies and Local Authorities to dictate the type and mix of new housing schemes have gone out to consultation. This has eased industry fears that the policy would be introduced without proper examination.
House builders were dismayed in October 2004 when a leaked version of Planning Policy Guidance Three (PPG3), now replaced by the Planning Policy Statement Three (PPS3), revealed that Local Authorities would be empowered to dictate the size, type and mix of future developments. The industry lobbied against the move and now the ODPM has decided to widen the discussion by collecting more views in its document ‘Planning for Mixed Communities’, a move welcomed by the housing industry.
Pre-budget report (December 2005)
In his pre-budget report, the Chancellor, Mr Gordon Brown, unveiled plans to boost the supply of affordable homes and the amenities that go with them.
New planning guidelines will encourage local authorities to accelerate planning consent and bring forward development of brown field sites.
The Chancellor launched a consultation on a new “planning gain supplement”, a windfall tax on the profits made from selling land for property development. The money raised would be used to build roads, schools and other amenities.
Barker Report
Mr Brown said that over the next decade, there would be a 200,000 net increase in the number of homes each year, compared to around 150,000 currently. The plans are in response to Ms Kate Barker’s independent Review of Housing Supply, commissioned by the Government in 2003, which showed that more people were being locked out of the property market.
To meet the new housing targets, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister published new draft planning guidelines to ensure local authorities release more land to meet future requirements. The Government also committed itself to a 50% increase in funding for social housing, aimed at delivering an extra 10,000 homes a year by 2007.
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