Planning approvals favor housing over essential amenities, causing residents to lack fundamental infrastructure
In various parts of England, the timely delivery of essential services in newly built or expanding settlements has been a contentious issue. Four recent cases illustrate how planning processes can often leave infrastructure trailing housing, resulting in residents waiting years for basic amenities like shops, GP surgeries, and community centers.
Conningbrook: A Success Story
At Conningbrook near Ashford, a development of 725 homes, planning and delivery have aligned effectively. The project, secured by Redrow and Quinn Estates in 2022, was completed by early 2024. New wetlands, a primary school, village green, a community building, and open space were conditions of occupation, ensuring that essential facilities were provided alongside housing.
Northstowe and Westvale Park: Missing Amenities
In contrast, the experiences at Northstowe in Cambridgeshire and Westvale Park, Horley, have been less successful. Despite planning for up to 10,000 homes, Northstowe still lacks a shop and GP surgery six years after residents moved in, demonstrating how phased permissions can delay essential services. Similarly, at Westvale Park, infrastructure intended to accompany housing—including medical facilities and community halls—was delayed for over a decade, necessitating enforcement action and financial bonding by the local council.
Cambourne: Unfulfilled Promises
Residents in Cambourne, Cambridgeshire, have expressed frustrations about the absence of key facilities like a post office, newsagent, or bus services. The initial planning for Cambourne included a market square, pub, and shops, but many of these amenities remain unbuilt. Currently, local councils, planning documents, and residents themselves are calling for action to address these gaps.
Planning Tools and Their Impact
Phased planning permissions, developer obligations (such as Section 106 agreements), and the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) significantly influence the timely delivery of essential services in new or expanding settlements. While these tools are designed to coordinate housing and infrastructure development, practical challenges can arise. Phased permissions can separate housing completion from infrastructure delivery in time, developer obligations require robust enforcement to be effective, and CIL depends on local charging and spending strategies. These factors combined can delay the arrival of essential services in new settlements.
In England, addressing these issues requires stronger enforcement, careful phasing aligned with infrastructure priorities, and efficient use of pooled funds from CIL to ensure timely service delivery alongside housing growth. By learning from the experiences at Conningbrook, Northstowe, Westvale Park, and Cambourne, we can strive for better coordination between housing and infrastructure development, ultimately benefiting the residents of these growing communities.
- To mitigate the issues seen in cases like Northstowe and Westvale Park, it's crucial for planning guides to emphasize the importance of timely infrastructure development, along with housing.
- In the housing market, investors must consider potential infrastructure delays in home-and-garden projects, as these can affect the lifestyle of the residents and the property value.
- A well-designed community, like Conningbrook, not only includes homes but also essential facilities such as schools, community buildings, and open spaces, enhancing the overall living experience for its residents.
- The existing housing-market trends indicate a need for real-estate developers to prioritize financing infrastructure development alongside housing projects, to ensure the delivery of necessary amenities on time.
- Proper planning and finance management can guide developers in building communities that provide all essential services from the onset, eliminating the frustration experienced by residents in settlements like Cambourne.
- To maintain a high standard of living in expanding settlements, it's essential for local councils and planning committees to guide investments towards the timely development of essential services like GP surgeries, shops, and community halls.
