The first thing to consider when looking to build a house, is where you are going to build it.
You could be forgiven for thinking it’s as straightforward as buying a plot in the middle of nowhere, getting planning, and cracking on with the build.
Unfortunately, ‘getting planning’ in the middle of nowhere is difficult.
The biggest hurdle to building a house in the countryside is to establish the ‘Principle of Development’ on the site.
What is the Principle of Development?
The principle of development is where the principle of a use on a specific site is established. Without this there is no chance whatsoever of lawfully constructing a building on that site. This principle can be established in several ways, but they normally fit within 3 main categories:
- Planning Permission (outline/permission in principle/full application)
- Through a Lawful Development Certificate (under s191 or s192 of the Town and Country Planning Act
- Through Permitted Development normally under Prior Approval for Change of Use.
Which route is most appropriate to any given site will vary and multiple applications may sometimes be required under.
If you are considering buying a plot of land and you are not sure what your chances are of obtaining permission, we offer a Desktop Appraisal Service.
If you are looking at a site, and wondering if you could build a house on it. We will look at the planning policy and site constraints then advise on your chances of obtaining planning permission. We will do this within 4 weeks (fast track service available on request)
Both the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and Local Plan Planning Policies try to steer development towards ‘Sustainable Locations’
What is a Sustainable Location?
At its most basic definition, a sustainable location is generally one which is close to service centres, public transport infrastructure, schools, doctors etc. The logic goes that if you have to rely on your car to get everywhere, the location is not sustainable.
However, this being planning, Logic does not apply in the normal way, and everything gets much more complicated very quickly once you scratch the surface.
‘Sustainable Locations’ are generally defined as being within a ‘Development Boundary’.
What is a Development Boundary?
Most Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) define the ‘settlements’ within them hierarchically and draw ‘development boundaries’ very tightly around them.
Their policies will then steer development towards the larger settlements where there are more services, then the medium sized developments and so on.
Anything inside that boundary is then classed as a ‘sustainable location’ and anything outside that boundary being – by definition – ‘unsustainable’.
On this basis the LPA will approve or refuse an application for housing. As the countryside is generally outside the development boundary, building there is difficult.
Can I make an ‘unsustainable location’ a ‘sustainable’?
There are however several ways in which a seemingly ‘unsustainable location’ may turn out to be ‘sustainable’ after all.
One way of doing this is to show that the LPA have a shortfall in their 5-year (housing) land supply (5YLS/5YHLS).
What is a 5-year (housing) land supply?
It is the job of each LPA to allocate enough land for the predicted development demand in their authority (including housing) over next 5-year period.
There are some other important things to note here. First, ‘allocation’ and ‘need’ more specific than just ‘housing’ – the LPA needs to assess a number of sub-categories within housing such as ‘market housing’, ‘affordable housing’, ‘over 55s housing’, ‘supported housing’ etc.
Next, they also have to assess and monitor plots for ‘self and custom build housing’. (more on this later)
If they can’t find enough sites themselves, they normally go through a process called a ‘call for sites.’
What is a ‘Call for Sites’?
A ‘call for sites’ is exactly what it sounds like –a consultation whereby landowners are asked to submit their sites to the council to be considered for allocation (eg for housing) within their Local Plan. The sites are then assessed against policy to see if they are suitable for the proposed development and their capacity (how many houses). If the site is considered acceptable, they are allocated within the local plan and the next development boundary will be adjusted to incorporate the sites which are allocated.
If you have a site you would like to be considered for housing and would like some assistance in preparing a ‘call for sites’ application, please get in touch.
How many sites are allocated?
The number of sites to be allocated is calculated according to a government formula set out in National Policy, these are the targets often referred to in the press.
What if my site is not allocated?
If your site is not allocated, it’s not the end of the world, and we will go into more detail later in this post, so please – keep reading.
Who checks if the LPA are meeting demand?
The LPA are required to monitor their delivery of sites to meet this demand as well as the rate at which they are developed, this is normally published annually. If there is insufficient land to meet their calculated demand, or the sites are not being delivered quickly enough to meet the demand over each rolling 5-year period, their Local Plan is considered ‘out of date’ in respect of their 5YLS.
What happens if the Local Plan is ‘out of date’?
If the LPA can’t meet their demand, the NPPF states that there should be a ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’. This is also known as triggering ‘the tilted balance’ or ‘paragraph 11 (d)’
This means that if a proposal could ‘on balance’ be demonstrated to be ‘sustainable’ even if it is outside a development boundary or settlement, it should be approved unless there are other good reasons not to – see ‘additional constraints’ below.
If the site can meet the other tests within NPPF the ‘Principle of Development’ would be established.
Another way of confirming the ‘Principle of Development is by establishing the site as ‘previously developed land’ or a ‘brownfield site’.
This does not mean that if there is a building there, the site is definitely ‘previously developed’ nor that a vacant green field is not ‘previously developed’ so
What is Previously Developed Land (PDL) or a Brownfield site?
The definition of PDL more commonly known as a Brownfield site is set out in National Planning Policy as follows:
Land which is or was occupied by a permanent structure, including the curtilage of the developed land (although it should not be assumed that the whole of the curtilage should be developed) and any associated fixed surface infrastructure.
However, there are some exceptions to this which are helpfully also set out in the same document:
This excludes: land that is or was last occupied by agricultural or forestry buildings; land that has been developed for minerals extraction or waste disposal by landfill, where provision for restoration has been made through development management procedures; land in built-up areas such as residential gardens, parks, recreation grounds and allotments; and land that was previously developed but where the remains of the permanent structure or fixed surface structure have blended into the landscape.
So broadly, if you have a site with an established use, which is not agricultural and where the development has not ‘blended into the landscape’ the site may be defined as Previously developed, however you should have this confirmed by a specialist – we can help you with this.
If you are considering buying a plot of land and you are not sure what your chances are of obtaining permission, we offer a Desktop Appraisal Service.
If you are looking at a site, and wondering if you could build a house on it. We will look at the planning policy and site constraints then advise on your chances of obtaining planning. We will do this within 4 weeks (fast track service available on request)
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One response to “Escape to the Country – Planning basics.”
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