The growing UK population has led to an increase in pressure for new homes. The government has recognised the need for additional housing and the demand has resulted in a steady loosening of planning policy as it seeks to significantly boost the supply. The National Planning Policy Framework gives greater support to rural development encouraging rural communities and business to grow and prosper.
Small scale residential development (5 units or less) can take place in underused farmyards, previous commercial sites and even in residential gardens set within urban or rural areas. Not only can this rejuvenate underused or redundant sites but can maximise the value of your land or create housing for a loved one. These types of development can include plots for self-build, starter homes or build-to-rent accommodation. The schemes that we develop are sensitively designed to respect the local vernacular, creating a sense of pride and contributing to a sense of place.
Large scale residential development sites differ in scale and complexity meaning that they take time to plan and require significant upfront capital investment. Every site is different, and there us a need for local authorities to understand the barriers and drivers of delivery in their area and seek to allocate appropriate housing sites.
Is planning permission required?
In short, yes. There are a plethora of ways to obtain planning permission with different considerations, requirements for information, costs and timescales.
While full planning permission involves a single application it is the most costly. Outline planning permission and permission in principle applications are two set processes with lower up-front costs and allow the principle of the development to be established prior to considering other elements like design and highway impact.
An alternative route is to get the land 'allocated'. This can be undertaken through Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA), local plan and/or neighbourhood plans. During the production and review of these documents a 'call-for-sites' will open at which point your site can be submitted and considered for adoption. The process does not grant planning permission but is a high-level assessment used as a starting point to decide whether sites could be developed for housing.
What are the main factors to consider?
- Likelihood of flooding
- Highways safety and impact
- Impact on public rights of way
- Impact on designations such as Green Belt or AONBs
- Noise impact
- Neighbour amenity
- Ecology
- Layout (urban design)
- Density
- Housing mix
- Developer contributions and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)
- Energy statement
- Telecommunication and broadband
Other factors to consider include Design, Materials, Scale, Use, Siting and Drainage.
Budget and timescale: This is on a project by project basis
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