Out-Law News 1 min. read
21 Aug 2013, 2:56 pm
The review proposes reducing the number of measures imposed on house builders from over 100 to fewer than 10, scrapping "unnecessary and confusing" standards that councils are free to apply locally.
The paper said that the way standards are currently applied can be a problem where the standards are not subject to any local cost benefit or viability assessment or "rigorous local needs assessment".
Under the proposals, there will be a "clear differentiation" between standards which can be asked for subject to viability and areas where voluntary, market led approaches are to be encouraged, but cannot be mandated through planning policy. Standards subject to viability will be set out in a “nationally described standard set” under the National Planning Policy Framework.
Existing standards whose abolition is proposed include demands for solar and wind energy sources that can’t physically fit on to the roofs of apartment buildings; a stipulation for multiple phone lines in home offices, irrespective of need and in addition to broadband connection and requirements to build accessible flats on floors that can’t be reached by disabled people.
It is also proposed that more than 1,500 pages of guidance should be reduced to fewer than 80, in a bid to save councils and house builders time and money.
"At a time when we are working closely with British business to create jobs and build a stronger economy it’s essential the government plays its part by taking off the bureaucratic handbrake that holds back house building and adds unnecessary cost," said Communities Minister Don Foster in a statement.
"I’m proposing to cut needless red tape to let house builders get on with the real job of building the high quality new homes that people need, especially families and first time buyers," he added.
The consultation is open for comments until 22 October. Following the consultation, the Government said it will set out clearly which housing standards will continue, and that this will be accompanied by an associated planning statement.
