Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 13
13
Accepted
Publish indicative benchmark land values to inform viability assessments on Green Belt land.
Recommendation
The Government must continue to develop its proposal to publish indicative benchmark land values to inform viability assessments on Green Belt land across England. The Government must publish different benchmark land values for each region of England, to reflect variation in land values. The Government must also ensure that the viability planning practice guidance contains clear advice on the “local material considerations” that would warrant local adjustments. The Government should continually review the effectiveness of the policy and consider how it may be extended to development on land that is not in the Green Belt. (Recommendation, Paragraph 72) Reforms to the Community Infrastructure Levy
Government Response Summary
The government committed to a 'gold standard aim' of 40% affordable housing in new towns, with an emphasis on Social Rent, and will work with delivery vehicles to support implementation. They are also developing mechanisms, including guidance, to facilitate the implementation of placemaking principles.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
62. The Government has been clear that new towns will deliver much needed quality and genuinely affordable housing. The Government is committed to a gold standard aim of 40% affordable, with an emphasis on Social Rent. The Department will work with delivery vehicles, including development corporations, to support implementation. 63. The Department is also developing mechanisms to facilitate the implementation of placemaking principles, including through guidance for delivery vehicles. Where appropriate, development corporations will be essential to delivery of new towns, not least for their ability to unlock planning challenges and provide greater certainty. Nonetheless, the need for development corporations to take on planning powers must be assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking account of the delivery barriers for each location, and is subject to public consultation. 64. It is vital that new towns, including those led by development corporations, are appropriately funded. Where development corporations are found to be the most appropriate vehicle through which to delivery New Towns, there will need to be resource funding available for the costs associated with running development corporations for new towns. Delivery will also be backed by funding across the Government’s landmark housing programmes, such as the £39bn Social and Affordable Housing Programme, hundreds of millions of grant from the National Housing Delivery Fund, and additional capital funding managed by the National Housing Bank. We will also work closely with other departments and regulators to ensure new towns will be factored into their future spending plans, ensuring they have the utilities, transport, and social infrastructure needed for the community to thrive.