HBF Planning Conference 2016

14 September - 15 September, 2016

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HBF Planning Conference 2016

HBF Planning Conference 2016
14 September 2016 - Austin Court, Birmingham 

Experts talk ambition and challenges at HBF Planning Conference
The government is not "backing away" from its commitment to housing following the EU referendum, with new ministers wanting to push progress forward, Steve Quartermain, chief planner at DCLG, said today. (September 14).

Speaking at the Home Builders Federation's Planning Conference in Birmingham, sponsored by Murphy Utility Connections, Quartermain said that the government still wished to build more homes. "More homes have been granted planning permission but it's not enough," he said. He pointed to figures which showed that the last time the industry built more than 200,000 homes in a single year was in 1988.

With the coming of new ministers, elements of the National Planning Policy Framework could be changed, Quartermain said, in order to meet housing needs. "They [ministers] might consider what more we can do to make planning authorities do what we want them to, what we can do to help the industry build, and what more we can do to help the way the market operates so developers can build faster".

He added: "Ministers have challenged us to build 300,000 homes, and look at what we can do to bridge the gap to help you deliver that ambition."

Also speaking at the conference, Liz Peace, adviser on property, politics and the built environment, gave delegates a favour of the outcome of the review into the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), due to be published later this autumn. She said that CIL was not going to be taken up by all local communities, creating a "mixed community" of those with and without a CIL setting.

She proposed a "drive towards a two-tier system with a low level CIL and section 106," catering for larger developments for which the levy was not suitable. "There is a real need for the government to provide a simpler system which allows all developments to contribute," she stressed.

John Rhodes, director of planning consultancy Quod and part of the Local Plans Expert Group (LPEG) Review, referred to figures on local plans which contrasted with those quoted by Quartermain. The LPEG found that only 31% of local planning authorities had a sound, post-NPPF local plan. Meanwhile, Quartermain said that 72% of local planning authorities had adopted a local plan. Local plans should reflect the "vision" of the local community, Rhodes said.

And focusing on local communities, Anna Sabine, ceo of Meeting Place Communications, outlined research that revealed a "silent majority" of those supporting housing. She cited a YouGov poll which showed that out of 2,000 respondents, supporters of housebuilding outweighed opponents five to three. Sabine said that her company was using the research to gain a deeoer understanding of communities.



DOWNLOAD THE AGENDA

If you have any questions then don't hesitate to contact the events team on 020 7960 1646 or events@house-builder.co.uk


HBF TECHNICAL CONFERENCE 
HBF Technical Conference takes place the following day on Thursday 15 September at Austin Court.   Special prices to attend both conferences are available by downloading the booking form. Click here to visit the HBF Technical Conference details.

Where

Austin Court, 80 Cambridge Street, B1 2NP

Agenda

DOWNLOAD THE DELEGATE QUESTIONNAIRE

DOWNLOAD THE PRESENTATIONS BELOW by clicking on the speaker's name: 
(please note that Liz Peace and Graeme Bell did not use a powerpoint presentation)

Andrew Whitaker (conference chair)
Planning Director, HBF 

Steve Quartermain
Chief Planner
DCLG

Liz Peace
Adviser on Property, Politics and the Built Environment
CIL Review

John Rhodes 
Director
Quod (LPEG Review)

Sarah Richards
Chief Executive
The Planning Inspectorate

Chris Young
Barrister
No.5 Chambers

Anna Sabine
Chief Executive
Meeting Place Communications

Mike Axon
Director 
Vectos

Graeme Bell
Vice President
Town and Country Planning Association