Urbanissta

🔄 Navigating Change with Agility and Partnership: Our Boutique Consultancy Approach 🔃 🔎 At Urbanissta our boutique planning and communications consultancy thrives on agility and proactivity. 🔦 In the dynamic world of planning, change is constant and often unexpected. We excel in embracing these last-minute changes with a proactive mindset, ensuring seamless transitions and adaptive solutions. 💡 💡 Our Core Strengths: ↪ Agility Our small, specialised team allows us to move quickly and efficiently, adapting to new developments and unexpected challenges. ↪ Proactive Problem-Solving We anticipate potential changes and prepare for multiple scenarios, ensuring that we're always a step ahead and ready to pivot as needed. ↪ Partnership-Focused Approach Collaboration is at the heart of our work. We engage closely with our clients, understanding their unique needs and the needs of their stakeholders to deliver tailored strategies and solutions. By fostering strong partnerships, we ensure that our clients feel supported and empowered, no matter what changes come their way. If you want to work with a agile and proactive planning and communications consultancy get in touch with us today - info@urbanissta.co.uk #planning #communications #house #development #newhomes #newbuild #stakeholderengagement #land #landstudy

As we wrap up another incredible year, we want to wish all our clients and followers a very Happy Christmas! Your support and trust mean the world to us, and we’re truly thankful for the connections we’ve built together through 2024.

🌳 St Albans Local Plan Submitted to Secretary of State 🌳 🌲 In correspondence issue on the 2nd December, the Council confirmed that: 🍀 “On the 29th November 2024 St Albans City and District Council submitted the draft Local Plan to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government for public examination.   🌳 ☘️ The draft Local Plan sets out the long-term planning strategy for the City and District of St Albans. It provides policies and proposals for the future development of the District up to 2041. 🌳 🌲 Representations made to the draft Local Plan Publication in 2024 can be viewed below... 🍀 ☘️ It will be interesting to see how the Inspectorate respond to the Council’s potentially controversial approach.  #localplans #planning #newbuild #homes

📢 🌟 Interactive dashboard of housing stock and housing supply by Local Authority is published.. 💻 The House of Commons Library has published an interactive dashboard (attached) which has data on housing stock and housing supply for local authorities in England. The interactive spreadsheet provides details by Local authority, of the following: ⏭️ Housing stock by Tenure ⏭️ Net additional homes (and components of supply_ ⏭️ Affordable housing supply by type ☘️ Really interesting information on an LPA level at as 31st March 2024. #planning #building #newhomes #homes #houses #newbuild #development

🏢 🏘️ Prime Minister confirms his ‘Plan for Change’ second milestones is to build 1.5 million new homes… ⏩ In his speech at the Pinewood studios on the 5th December, the Prime Minster reiterated the need to have ambitious targets for housing delivery, we set out a few of the highlight of his speech below: ⏭️ “…..Two – Britain rebuilt with 1.5 million new homes…  So the security I enjoyed when I was growing up…  The ‘base camp aspiration’ of home ownership…  Does not move further and further away from working-class families like mine .….. ⏭️ Building 1.5m homes is ambitious… A little too ambitious, perhaps”.  And look, I’ll be honest…  They’re right. ….. ⏭️ In fact – given that inheritance on housing starts…  Clearly if we don’t turbocharge housebuilding with reform…  We’re won’t meet that milestone.   And if that level of candour surprises you… Then honestly – it shouldn’t.  After all – what is the point of setting a target that you can deliver without bold action. “ ⏭️ Let’s hope that this bold action manifestos in the new NPPF – rumoured to be issued imminently... #NPPF #building #newhomes #houses #planning

According to Berkeley, the new government's "change in tone" on housebuilding has already led to an improvement in builders' experiences with the planning system via Housing Today #planning #build #newhomes #homes

☘️ Conservative leader Badenoch cites ‘planning bureaucracy’ as holding back growth.. 🍃 ☘️ In a document called Conservatism in Crisis Rose of the Bureaucratic Class Conversative Leader Kemi Badenoch has indicated that 🍀 🌿 “A private sector with the dominant bureaucratic class can never be reformed to make the system work. Excellent work by the group Britain Remade sets out ways our infrastructure and planning system holds back growth and infrastructure, with serious negative consequences. 🏡 They rightly complain that the planning application for the Lower Thames Crossing runs to 359,866 pages, …the 3.3-mile Portishead branch line had 79,187 pages of paperwork… and the Sizewell C environmental impact assessment runs to 44,000 pages… But they are wrong to assume this is a failure of process. This is a failure of politics. 🏠 🏡 A Minister involved in planning had a roundtable where it was suggested having major infrastructure applications having a named civil servant responsible, a major reduction in consultation around environmental requirements for some infrastructure, (as a nuclear station reduces emissions substantially it is a victory in itself), and fewer judicial reviews…..” 🎇 The Report continues. “But in housing, the regulatory burdens that restrict housing supply have driven up housing costs. Of course we want to protect our most cherished landscapes, but the more that government restricts housing supply, the more that our over-complex planning system creates a quasi-cartel of large housebuilders, the more house prices and rents will go up even as complaints rise about new builds –with house prices rising by 254% from 2000 to 2023.” 🎇 Given Michael Gove’s recently acknowledgement that the change to the NPPF (which is due this month), had unintended consequence on housing supply and performance, it will be interesting to see what plans the opposition party develop to ‘streamline’ planning….. #planning #building #newhomes #development

Planning appeal guidance updated – planning obligations must be lodged sooner.. In guidance updated on the 2nd October, PINS now requires that planning obligations agreement should be submitted at the time of lodging an appeal, a change from the previous arrangements where it could be submitted up to seven weeks afterwards. The guidance states: “If you intend to rely on a planning obligation you should send an executed and certified copy with your appeal form for appeals proceeding by written representations. For appeals proceeding by either a hearing or an inquiry you should send a draft version with your appeal form and our start letter we will send you will tell you when you must send the final draft to us.” #planning #building #newhomes #homes

Minister of State for Housing and Planning, Matthew Pennycook MP approves 280 dwellings in Horsham.. In a decision issued on the 25th October 2024, the Minister for Housing issued a call in decision and agreed with the decision of the planning Inspector that reserved matters approval should be granted for 280 dwellings by Cret Nicholson on land at Kilnwood Vale, Faygate in Horsham. In issuing the decision the main issues included whether a whether a Habitats Regulations compliant appropriate assessment had taken place regarding matters of water abstraction impacts upon local designated assets.  #planning #building #development #newbuild #homes

➡️ Surrey Council to Publish Action Plan in Response to Damning LGA Review Warning that its Planning Department Needs Urgent Attention.. ➡️ A Surrey hung council has promised to publish an action plan next month in response to a damning peer review warning that its planning department was “under significant pressure" and requires “urgent attention”, while its lack of a local plan posed a “significant financial risk”. ➡️ The Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC) review by the Local Government Association (LGA) involved a team of senior local government councillors and officers carrying out a detailed study of Tandridge District Council’s financial, performance and governance situation. ➡️ The resulting report said of the council’s planning service that “the full financial cost of not having a local plan, the increase of planning appeals, an increase in enforcement cases all pose a significant financial risk” to the council which should “reduce these risks as soon as possible”. #planning #newhomes #homes #development