CIH submission to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill’s call for written evidence

2.1. Through our position as the professional body for housing, we believe that the role of the planning system must enable the development of affordable housing. In particular, it must ensure that acute housing needs are being met in local areas, which requires greater development of truly affordable social homes, as well as supported and specialist housing.

2.2. One way this is achieved is through a focus on strategic master planning. CIH has consistently supported the restoration of strategic planning and welcomes the commitment to encourage collaboration and holistic thinking with regard to planning and infrastructure. This is further detailed in the Spatial Development Strategies (SDSs) for elected Mayors through upcoming devolution policy changes, as well as updated local plans in the NPPF. All plans and strategies for a local area must be connected and aligned, such as plans to tackle homelessness, meeting new housing targets, and supporting vulnerable people through access to specialist or supported housing. This strategic planning approach will be important to ensure that there is a joined-up and holistic vision for new developments, so that new housing and infrastructure are connected to create well-designed, practical and healthy communities, including GP services, schools, transport networks, energy grid capacity, and water systems. This presents an opportunity in the development of new towns, which will allow for the creation of healthy and sustainable communities from inception. We responded in more detail on this point in the House of Lords new towns modular inquiry and can share further information on request.

2.3. Additionally, we have welcomed the government’s commitment to ensure that compulsory purchase orders (CPO) can be used in the public interest, including for the development of affordable housing. Social housing provides clear gains for the public and wider economy, such as tackling homelessness, reducing the financial pressures of temporary accommodation costs for local authorities, and providing a wide range of societal economic benefits. In our response to the consultation on this area, we also supported the removal of ‘hope value’, which often acts as a barrier to viable new social housing through inflated land prices.

2.4. Whilst reforms to the planning system continue to be welcome in their aims to boost affordable housing delivery, there continue to be concerns around the resourcing and skills in planning, construction and ecological expertise, which must also be addressed. Local authority planning teams have had significant reductions in staffing levels and budgets, which has ultimately led to reduced capacity and delays in the planning system. Increasingly complex planning applications have also meant that there are further delays due to skills shortages in the area of ecological expertise. We welcome the government’s commitment to funding planning teams to support the costs of local plan delivery and boost training of planners (such as the Planning Skills Fund) and construction workers to enable the delivery of new housing.

2.5. Crucially, we support the development of the right homes in the right places, to meet local housing needs. This is key in building healthy homes (detailed below), as nature and access to green and blue spaces are necessary to create thriving communities in the long-term.

3.1. Health and housing will always be fundamentally linked, as research shows the positive health outcomes that come from living in good quality housing. CIH supports the Town and Country Planning Association’s (TCPA) healthy homes principles, which set the baseline to incorporate health within new housing developments.

3.2. Therefore, CIH is pleased to support Amendment NC9, put forward by Gideon Amos MP, focused on improving health and wellbeing:

“Development plans to aim to improve health and well-being
(1) Any national or local plan or strategy relating to the planning or development of an area must be designed to improve the physical, mental and social health and well-being of the people who are to reside in that area.
(2) The Secretary of State must issue guidance to local planning authorities on how local plans and strategies can be designed to achieve the aims outlined in subsection (1).”

3.3. We will continue to support work to ensure that new homes are safe, accessible, decent and affordable. This work must extend to publishing the technical consultation to progress the implementation of the M4(2) accessibility standards under the Building Regulations. This has significant cross-sector support in the housing, health, and built environment sectors, and will provide the necessary provisions for those with limited accessibility to live independent and full lives in their own homes. More details can be found in the HoME campaign, of which CIH is a supportive member.

3.4. Finally, we also support amendments to permitted development rights, namely office-to-residential conversions. CIH has previously expressed its concerns regarding the expanded use of PDR. Whilst there is a clear need for expedited development of new homes, the ever-increasing move towards deregulation through the continual expansion of PDR over the last decade has led to the creation of poor-quality and unsafe homes. We hope that the government will address this in its planning reforms and legislative changes.

4.1. CIH welcomes Clause 45 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which introduces mandatory, accredited training for planning committee members. We believe this is an important opportunity to improve the decisions made by planning committees by embedding awareness of the housing crisis and social housing stigma into the decision making process. 

4.2. Planning decisions ultimately shape whether communities are able to access the social and affordable homes they need, including supported housing. However, there is growing evidence that stigma and misunderstanding among planning committees, as well as local opposition, which has a disproportionate effect on the decisions made by committees. CIH members have informed us that local resistance to the development of social and supported housing is often due to fundamental misconceptions about the role and purpose of these forms of housing rather than any relevant evidence. 

4.3. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill is an opportunity to raise awareness of the scale of housing need and the vital role that social and supported housing plays in society and the wider economy. The training mandated for planning committee members should consequently go beyond planning law to include specific, non-optional content with an outcome-focused approach on: 

4.3.1. Understanding housing need, both generally and in specific places. 
4.3.2. Social housing stigma.
4.3.3. Equalities and inclusion, especially legal duties under the Equality Act 2010 and the role of planning in enabling healthy, inclusive communities. 
4.3.4. The importance and role of resident voice and meaningful participation by residents in planning processes. 

4.4. To be effective, training must also equip planning committee members with practical tools for inclusive participation and engagement. Methods such as Serious Play, Living Labs, and Ketso can all shift planning culture from top-down consultation to genuine participation, ensuring that decisions are reflective of the needs of communities and local housing requirements. 

4.5. Overall, mandating training for planning committee members through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill is welcome. However, for planning to play its role in delivering the social and affordable housing the country requires, we believe that training should be expanded to reflect the reality of the housing crisis, improve awareness of the importance of stigma and of tackling it, and foster genuine local participation and engagement in decision-making processes. CIH would welcome the opportunity to work with government and partners to develop and deliver this training. 

For more information visit parliament's website.

For more information on our response please contact Megan Hinch, policy manager on megan.hinch@cih.org.