Housing minister Keith Hill said on Monday: "We're looking at the optional planning charge being delivered in one of three ways: wholly as a financial contribution, partly as an in-kind contribution, or wholly as an in-kind contribution.
"The local planning authority will get to decide in advance which it wants."
The news follows widespread criticism of the government's original planning charge proposal, part of its effort to speed up the planning process.
Under those plans, developers would have had the option to pay a charge to the council instead of negotiating a planning gain agreement in which they provide housing or other community facilities in return for permission (HT 7 November, page 8).
The latter system is in operation now and delivers at least 12,000 affordable homes a year. But it has been accused of slowing down the planning process by forcing councils and developers into complex negotiations.
This looks like a knee-jerk reaction to the criticism the government has received
Robin Tetlow, Tetlow King
Critics of the charge system believe it would make it harder to deliver the mixed-tenure developments promoted in the Communities Plan: there would be no guarantee councils would spend the extra cash on affordable homes and it is likely any homes would be built on a separate site.
The Chartered Institute of Housing welcomed the news. It said it would remove most of its concerns over the ODPM's attempts to speed up planning.
But Robin Tetlow, director of planning consultant Tetlow King Planning, said: "This looks like a knee-jerk reaction to the criticism the government has received.
"The whole thing has not been clearly thought through. Only now is the government starting to understand the points that absolutely have to be addressed."
Source
Housing Today
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