Government Housing Measures On Planning, New Home Defects And Cladding Ban

The government has announced a series of housing measures relevant to homeowners, housebuilders and those concerned with planning matters.

The measures include:

• Plans to consult on measures to speed up the planning system and make better use of land and vacant buildings to deliver new homes. These include a new permitted development right allowing property owners to extend certain buildings upwards, clearer guidance to give more certainty for communities when land is needed for a New Town and allowing local authorities more flexibility to dispose of surplus land that could accommodate new homes.
• A “new homes ombudsman” supporting homebuyers facing problems with their newly built homes. Details of the ombudsman scheme are not provided, except that legislation will require all developers to join it.
• Banning combustible cladding for all high-rise buildings that contain flats, as well as hospitals, residential care premises and student accommodation. This will be implemented by changing Building Regulations guidance to require the use of products achieving a European classification of Class A1 or A2.

The cladding ban is unsurprising, following widespread concern at the independent Hackitt Review’s failure to recommend an outright ban after the Grenfell Tower fire. In contrast, the new homes ombudsman and planning announcements lack detail and practitioners will only be able to assess their full impact when more information becomes available.

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-announces-new-housing-measures