Garden Grabbing:
Advice from the Government
Planning minister John Healey has reminded planning authorities in England that they have the powers to establish clear local policies that address inappropriate building on back gardens.
The move came in the wake of the Government’s publication of independent research by Kingston University into the prevalence of the problem.
Communities and Local Government’s chief planner Steve Quartermain has written to planning authorities pointing out that the research found that “inappropriate building on back gardens is not a widespread, national or growing problem. A minority of authorities consider it to be of importance, mainly focused in outer London and the South East, whereas the majority across the rest of the country does not.
“However, we do feel that there is merit in reminding local authorities that they already do have the means to address concerns where they exist, and that this is an issue best identified and dealt with locally,” he wrote.
In response to concerns over the issue CLG is clarifying the advice in Planning Policy Statement 3, by moving some existing text from the definition of previously developed land (Annex B) to the main body of the document itself.
This means that paragraph 41 of the PPS, which explains that brownfield land is the priority for development, will also now say that “there is no presumption that previously developed land is necessarily suitable for housing, or that all of the curtilage should be developed”. PPS3 retains a focus on brownfield land, where this is suitable for housing.
Quartermain told planning authorities that the main focus of the Government’s position is that local authorities are best placed to develop policies and take decisions on the most suitable locations for housing and they can, if appropriate, resist development on existing gardens.
“Indeed, the report by Kingston University found that of the applications looked at in the review, the Planning Inspectorate supported four out of the five decisions made by local authorities in such circumstances. This was particularly true when these were supported by having local policies in place,” he wrote.
Planning minister John Healey said: “Councils are leaving an open door for inappropriate development if they do not have local plans in place, and the power to stop this lies in their hands.
“Councils already have the tools they need to deal with this issue and this evidence shows that when they have a local policy in place they can accurately judge the need for new homes on previously developed land, using their own discretion, and protect the essence of a neighbourhood.”
Access the research report: Garden developments: understanding the issues - An investigation into residential development on gardens in England
Access the letter to chief planning officers: Development on Garden Land