Star date: 20th November 2019

SALFORD COUNCIL TO 'REFRESH' PLANNING POLICY

After years of pressure from the Salford Star, Salford Council's Cabinet is to meet next week to finally 'refresh' its planning policy known as the SPD, or Supplementary Planning Document.

The Star has estimated that tens of millions of pounds and well over one thousand affordable houses have been lost to the city due to current policy in which developers can avoid their obligations. The new 'refresh' includes changes in the 'values' of areas, the publishing of 'viability assessments' and a minimum of 20% affordable housing, although the city's green belt is not included, and there are get outs.

Full details here...

After years of exposes by the Salford Star of just how much money and how many affordable houses have been lost to the city due to the bonkers planning policy of Salford City Council, the Cabinet is meeting next week to 'refresh' its SPD, or Planning Obligations Supplementary Planning Document, which is responsible for the mess.

The Star estimated at the last count that around £42million had been lost to the city in planning obligations, plus thousands of affordable houses*, statistics backed up by Sheffield University research, which showed a loss of £18million and over two thousand affordable houses from just 26 sites alone in the city (see here).

Since 2015, when the last SPD was introduced, the Council has blocked the publication of the 'viability assessments' that developers have used to avoid paying fees; have deemed certain areas 'low value' where developers don't have to pay anything or provide affordable houses; and have excluded developers building some of the most expensive luxury 'high density' apartment blocks from having to provide any affordable housing at all.

The Council report going to the Cabinet next week on the 'refresh' doesn't take any responsibility for this, nor does it make any apology to the people of Salford, merely stating, unbelievably, that it has "generally been successful at securing planning obligations across Salford since its adoption"...The report justifies its changes to the SPD, murmuring that there is "evidence of a general improvement in the viability of new development in the City..."

While Government policy prohibits a much needed total overhaul of the system (despite the Council consulting on it earlier this year), the Council is going for a "minor refresh of the 2015 adopted SPD" that "does not involve changing existing formulas or introducing new ones, or changing the overall approach. The key implication of this is that the affordable housing requirements as part of new developments have to be capped at a maximum 20% as per the 2015 SPD".

Now, after years of blocking planning information, Salford Council claims to have discovered transparency in the planning system... "Good information on how planning obligations have been agreed and used is essential to maintaining public confidence in the planning system" it gurgles "Where planning obligations do not accord with all of the policy requirements in this SPD, it is important that local communities can understand fully why a reduced contribution is considered necessary and appropriate. The publication of viability appraisals is a key aspect of this..."

The new refresh also includes a new map of value areas in the city in which there are no 'low value' areas, and where previously mid and low-to-mid value areas are now 'high value' areas.

In effect this means that all big apartment blocks in high and mid to high value areas will be subject to providing affordable housing (a mix of social or affordable rent, and intermediate rent) – high density apartment blocks in high value areas should provide 20% affordable housing, although this is still 'by negotiation'; and apartment blocks in mid-to-high value areas should provide 10% affordable housing, although again this is 'by negotiation' (see graphic).

The growing Private Rent Sector is also included... "All build to rent schemes, including co-living developments, will be required to provide 20% of units in the form of affordable private rent at a minimum rent discount of 20% relative to local markets (inclusive of service charges)" states the report.

Away from affordable housing, all developments in the city will also have to pay full planning obligations for other things like public realm, public space, education etc – except for developers building apartment blocks in mid and low to mid value areas...

"...the development will not typically be required to make off-site planning obligation contributions, on the basis of development viability" the report states "There may however be instances where certain site-specific planning obligations are fundamental in order to mitigate the impact of a development and in these circumstances the city council may refuse a planning application where a development would generate unacceptable impacts which could not be effectively mitigated and which are not outweighed by the benefits of the development."

Meanwhile Salford's Green Belt areas are not included in any of the 'refreshed' SPD... "the city's designated green belt has been excluded for the purposes of defining the residential value areas" the report states "Development within the green belt that is of a sufficient scale to generate a requirement for planning obligations will by definition be exceptional.

"In such instances, the scale of affordable housing provision and other planning obligations will be negotiated on a site by site basis" it adds "It is however expected that any such development would be able to support, as a minimum, the scale of contribution that applies within the high value area..."

One of the big loopholes in the current planning system is the developer's costs which are taken into account during viability assessments. These include where a developer can subtract overinflated land costs and huge profits (£24million in some cases) in the calculations.

Now the Council is attempting to close this get-out – a bit..."The city council recognises that to be considered viable, development should provide competitive returns to a willing land owner and willing developer to enable the development to be deliverable" states the report "It is however expected that developers should have regard to the scale of policy requirements and planning obligations when acquiring land as part of their due diligence, and therefore where a developer has clearly overpaid for a site this will not be accepted as a justification for negotiating a reduced contribution..."

Will it all make a difference? Well, most of the big sites in Salford already have planning permission. The developer's profit horse might well have already bolted...

To read the full changes to the 'refreshed' SPD – click here

* For a full background see previous Salford Star articles...

Salford's Housing Crisis - The Causes - click here

£42million Planning Scandal Mushrooms as Salford City Mayor Asks What Is Going On - click here

The Salford Star print issue 10 has a huge article on the planning scandal - click here for electronic copy