Planning For City Regions The ‘p’ word Bob Pritchard, July 2015

Context – Subsidiarity /Democratic Deficit Expansion of Permitted Development Rights Other measures – including challenges to the provision of affordable housing on viability grounds Increased role of NSIP regime July Budget announcement – e.g. automatic planning permission for brownfield sites.

Context - Localism “It's their place, Mac. They have a right to make of it what they can.”

Context - Localism Neighbourhood Plans Larkfleet Homes v Rutland CC [2015] –confirmed that specific sites can be allocated in neighbourhood plans - any other result would fly in the face of what neighbourhood plans are intended to achieve. Gladman v Aylesbury Vale DC [2014] –neighbourhood plan could include housing policies, even where there were no strategic policies to guide them

Context – Housing Growth NPPF para 47. “To boost significantly the supply of housing, local planning authorities should: –use their evidence base to ensure that their Local Plan meets the full, objectively assessed needs for market and affordable housing in the housing market area, as far as is consistent with the policies set out in this Framework, including identifying key sites which are critical to the delivery of the housing strategy over the plan period....”

Context - Duty to Cooperate “….that most dismal of inventions”

TCPA paper – filling the strategic void “…….the duty to co-operate was not designed to be, in any meaningful way, a proxy for strategic planning at wider sub-regional or regional scale..” (TCPA November 2013) Suggestion is that is should be scrapped or evolved so that it focuses more on outcomes rather than process.

Strategic Planning: Effective Cooperation for Planning Across Boundaries “……there is no positive mechanism to bring about effective strategic planning: only a negative mechanism to prevent non-strategic planning.” (RTPI January 2015)

Story so Far – GMSF Joint plan to manage the supply of land to support jobs and new homes in Greater Manchester Intended to be an overarching DPD for 10 LPAs.

GMSF - Timetable Consultation (September - November 2014) Strengthening the evidence base and developing options (January - November 2015) Consultation on the Draft GMSF (2016) Publication of the GMSF (2017) Submission and independent examination (2017) Adoption (2018)

Outcome of Initial Consultation “Strong support” for the rationale of the GMSF “General support” for the scope and vision of the document and in its support of the Greater Manchester Strategy “Concern” that the document is not bold and forward looking enough and doesn’t reflect the ambition presented in the GMS and Devolution Agreement.

Devolution Agreement - November 2014 “….the Mayor will receive strategic planning powers. This will give the Mayor the power to create a statutory spatial framework for the city region, which will act as the framework for managing planning across Greater Manchester, and will need to be approved by unanimous vote of the Mayor’s Cabinet. This will be in line with the strategy currently being developed by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).”

Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill Provides for directly-elected mayors Creates institutional framework within which future deals will be made between combined authorities and central government n.b. flexibility as to which functions will be devolved (including planning).

Budget July 2015 Proposal to devolve more planning powers to Greater Manchester under a system that would require the agreement of the council cabinet member "representing the district in which the power is used".

Key Issues for City Region Planning What is a city region plan issue as opposed to a neighbourhood plan or local plan issue? Importance of a visionary and spatial approach Importance of evidence base Importance of ‘bottom up’ approach to formulating policies Will some issues be sub city region? What about issues which cross city regions?

Key Issues for City Region Planning Role of metro mayor –Role in policy formulation? –Role in development management - call in powers?

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