1st Annual (2020)

Local Plan Masterclass

Practical guidance on developing, updating and adopting local plans that address housing needs

Thursday 08 October 2020

Programme

Download

8th October 2020

08:45

Registration and refreshments

09:30

Chair’s welcome and opening remarks

09:40

Understanding the impacts that the revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) will have on housing delivery

What revisions have been made to the NPPF?
What will this mean for the future of the planning system?
What additional changes need to be implemented into policy to help achieve the housing targets?

Michael Bingham

Head of Planning Strategy

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

10:05

Using the Housing Delivery Test and the new standard methodology for assessing housing needs to meet demand

How sensitive is the Housing Delivery Test in identifying local authorities that are falling short?
Producing action plans and identifying a 20% buffer for land development
What will the new standard methodology mean for site allocation and delivery?
What are the flaws in the new standard methodology for assessing housing needs?
How to identify deliverable sites to enable development

Jonathan Dixon

Director, Planning

Savills

10:30

The role of Homes England Strategic Plan 2018 to 2023 to address the housing crisis

What challenges were highlighted in the 5 year strategic plan?
What solutions does the plan provide to address the housing shortfall?

Sarah Greenwood

Head of Strategic Growth

Homes England

10:55

Morning refreshments

11:25

Updating your local plan under the new policy changes to meet housing targets in your local area

What requirements need to be met by local authorities in light of the policy changes?
Updating your local plan to meet the new NPPF guidance
Identifying a 5 year land supply to meet housing needs – small site allocations and entry-level exception sites
Identifying deliverable sites and the evidence that needs to be submitted with your plan
The reality of delivering new homes to reach the housing supply targets
What opportunities and challenges does the policy change present for different stakeholders and housing delivery?

11:50

The impacts of neighbourhood plans on meeting housing targets and enabling new development in relation to local plans

Using Local Plans in parallel with Neighbourhood Plans to identify housing needs and development sites
How can these two plans work together to achieve housing targets?
The impact of neighbourhood plans on local plans

12:15

The opportunities and constraints that the Green Belt has on meeting housing demands

The Government’s current view on the Greenbelt release
The issues surrounding the green belt that local authorities encounter and how to overcome them
When can exceptional circumstances be used to justify green belt release and how do you make a case for this?
The potentials that the Green Belt release has for delivering houses
Working around Green Belt Land to meet housing needs
Recent examples of green belt release

12:40

Networking lunch

13:40

Implications of the revised NPPF on developing the viability evidence to support local plans

The impacts of the requirements of the new NPPF guidance to determine viability at the local plan planning stage
What impacts does the changes in the viability requirements in light of the revised NPPF guidance have on developers and local authorities?
The challenges local authorities face when conducing viability assessments
What new technologies and innovations could be employed to improve viability assessments?
Best practice guidelines for conducting viability assessments

14:05

Examinations of local plans – what common pitfalls do you need to avoid to prevent delays to your local plan?

How will applications be examined under the recent NPPF policy changes?
What requirements need to be met to allow for a successful application?
Pitfalls to avoid in your application to avoid delays upon examination
Including the Planning Inspectorate in plan-making

Jerry Youle

Professional Lead for Local Plans

Planning Inspectorate

14:30

What challenges are local authorities facing in updating local plans and meeting housing targets?

What challenges and opportunities does the new NPPF guidance present for local authorities?
Will the new NPPF guidance speed up house delivery?
How can we address lack of resources to enable local authorities to build housing and enable delivery?
Using joint planning between neighbouring authorities to help accelerate housing delivery

14:55

Afternoon refreshments

15:25

Working with local authorities to enable housing delivery

What challenges and opportunities does the new NPPF guidance present for developers?
How can local authorities and developers work collaboratively to allocate sites more readily and deliver more houses?
What factors should developers consider when conducting a Viability Assessment?
What are the common challenges do developers face?

15:50

Panel discussion: How can we speed up local plans and housing delivery to meet the housing targets?

The role of local plans
Why does the gap between the planning permissions granted and homes delivered remain significant?
What can we do today to ensure we meet the housing targets to be delivered?
What challenges does viability present for accelerating local plans delivery?
Meeting the requirements for delivering social housing – an ongoing issue

16:35

Chair’s closing remarks

16:25

Close of conference and networking drinks

*All sessions include time for Q & A*

Register now