Consultation Nation: Yet more planning reform..... this time on short term lets, holiday rentals and nutrient neutrality
The Easter holidays are always a slightly frantic time in my house. After several days of wrangling overexcited children, huge family get togethers and *far* too much chocolate, the return to work usually comes as a welcome relief.
This year, however, is a bit different. This year, it is not only excessive chocolate-consumption that I have to contend with. It is also DLUHC's apparent addiction to planning consultations.
For those who have not been keeping a running count, before the Easter break, DLUHC was running the following open consultations:
- A consultation on changes to permitted development rights to support temporary recreational campsites, renewable energy and film-making - which closes on 25 April 2023
- A consultation on proposals to increase planning fees and to improve capacity, capability and performance within local planning authorities - which also closes on 25 April 2023
- A consultation on Environmental Outcomes Reports - which closes on 9 June 2023
- A technical consultation on the Infrastructure Levy - which also closes on 9 June 2023; and
- A consultation seeking views on how to make High Street Rental Auctions work - which closes on 23 June 2023.
On 12 April 2023, the first day back after the Bank Holiday, DLUHC added two more consultations to the list:
- A consultation on the introduction of a new use class for short term lets and associated permitted development rights - which closes on 7 June 2023; and
- A call for evidence and expression of interest in the Local Nutrient Mitigation Fund announced in the Budget - which closes on 24 May 2023.
New Use Class for Short Term Lets
To summarise this consultation, very briefly, the government is proposing:
- The following new use class for short term lets:
“C5 Short Term Let:
Use of a dwellinghouse that is not a sole or main residence for temporary sleeping accommodation for the purpose of holiday, leisure, recreation, business or other travel."
- Introducing new permitted development rights allowing the change of use of a property from a dwellinghouse to a short term let and back again
- Retaining the flexibility for homeowners to let out their home for a number of nights in a calendar year (either 30, 60 or 90 nights) by either amending the dwellinghouse use class or alternatively creating yet another additional permitted development right to cover the changes; and
- Bringing in a specific planning application fee for the development of new build short term lets
The overall intention behind these changes appears to be a desire to allow councils that are experiencing problems with short term lets to control them through the use of Article 4 Directions.
A solution rendered somewhat less effective than it might otherwise have been by changes to Para 53 of the NPPF introduced in July 2021 and in particular the requirement that all Article 4 Directions "be based on robust evidence, and apply to the smallest geographical area possible".
A mirror consultation on the registration scheme for short term lets proposed in the LURB is being run simultaneously by DCMS. Details of that consultation can be found here.
Local Nutrient Mitigation Fund
The Local Nutrient Mitigation Fund document is a two for one policy paper, which delivers on promises contained in the budget.
Part 1 comprises a call for evidence, which invites all of the 74 local planning authorities affected by Natural England's nutrient neutrality advice:
- to provide evidence as to the impact of nutrient neutrality on those LPAs and their ability to deliver new housing;
- to provide information and views about the scale of the impact, forthcoming solutions, and on-going work at a catchment level.
The paper also states that DLUHC is interested in hearing from others who have evidenced proposals which could reduce nutrient pollution and unlock housing. A statement which feels like an open invitation to the HBF and Lichfields to submit a copy of their latest report on the potential impact of tweaking the housing occupation figures in the standard calculator.....
Part 2 is an expression of interest, which invites affected local planning authorities to bid for funds to support projects or strategies for delivering nutrient mitigation to unlock housing delivery in their areas.
The first round of funding will prioritise well-developed schemes that could be delivered or expanded within 6 months, with two further rounds being proposed for Autumn 2023 and Spring 2024.
To quote from the paper:
"The funding provided as part of this scheme will be delivered as a grant to fund mitigation measures. These measures will allow for the creation of credits which can be sold to developers on a full cost recovery basis with the subsequent receipts recycled by the recipient local planning authority with a view to funding further measures to tackle nutrient pollution.
For this initial expression of interest, we would not expect to receive proposals from a single catchment (or area where two catchments overlap) seeking capital funding for more than £10 million. Resource funding may also be available where a strong case to aid delivery is demonstrated. Proposals for subsequent mitigation measures should still be included with clear indication as to how they will utilise recycled funds from credit sales. Where proposals could be scaled above this level of funding, we will work with relevant lead local planning authorities and consider at future tranches of the scheme (autumn 2023 and spring 2024).
The funding will be used cyclically within the catchment until such time as any further need for nutrient mitigation credits for development is no longer needed. At this point, recovered funds should be invested in measures identified as part of actions to help restore the relevant Habitats Sites to a favourable condition, including as part of a Protected Site Strategy or Nutrient Management Plan if applicable."
It will be interesting to see how the requirement for receipts from credit sales to be recycled by LPAs into the provision of new mitigation schemes plays out; given that a large number of the mitigation schemes already available are not owned or operated by local planning authorities.
Nonetheless, it is encouraging to see this particular policy paper come forward fairly promptly.
If nothing else, it is nice to be reminded that not all glimpses of a silver lining turn out to be the inside of an empty chocolate wrapper.....
This consultation seeks views on the introduction of a short term let use class. In addition it seeks views on the introduction of new permitted development rights to provide flexibility where short term lets are not a local issue, and which allows for this flexibility to be removed where there is local concern. We are additionally seeking views on how homeowners might be provided with flexibility to let out their sole or main home for up to 30 nights in a calendar year.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is in parallel consulting on the detail of the planned register of short term lets. See: Consultation on a registration scheme for short-term lets in England.”
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