Welsh developers "must seek pre-application advice"

A report on affordable housing delivery suggests developers should seek pre-application planning advice from local authorities in Wales on all major proposals.

As part of this, local planning authorities should provide clear and timely advice on what is expected of applicants, differentiating between essential revisions and desirable changes, and requests to improve the scheme.

The recommendation is one of several set out by the Affordable Housing Taskforce, which seeks to support the provision of more homes for social rent in Wales. The body was convened by Lee Waters in October 2024 at the request of Jayne Bryant, Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government, and Julie James, Minister for Delivery.

Task force members agreed that local authorities lack the capacity and expertise they need and urged the Welsh Government and councils to identify areas where skills and capacity gaps can be alleviated by collaboration. Funding should support agreements to collaborate.

The organisation also calls for more use of delegated power by planning officers on smaller developments to cut the number of applications coming before planning committees. Councillors will retain the right to call in applications.

The report suggests there should be a template approach agreed for section 106 agreements, which include affordable housing clauses. The template would be standard for all local planning and national park authorities, as well as social landlords and private developers.

It urges local authorities to prioritise applications for new affordable homes in recognition of the housing emergency.

In the report's introduction, Waters highlights that there are at least 11,000 adults and 3,000 children in Wales living in temporary accommodation, such as B&Bs. Challenges in recent years, particularly COVID-19, inflation, and the rising cost of living, have also hit housebuilding.

Water says: "There are encouraging signs that the number has recently started to fall, but it remains much too high. In total, there are 140,000 people on a waiting list for a home they can afford. This represents a housing emergency".

Noting there is "no magic bullet solution", he argues that there are a variety of practical changes that can be made to speed the delivery of affordable housing by both market and non-market routes.

"There is no denying that austerity cuts to councils and public bodies that are statutory consultees on planning applications have constrained the capacity and capability of the local authorities to respond to demands. At all points, the system is under strain and is suffering from a lack of capacity, and this is exacerbated by the fragmentation within the system".

Waters said the changes proposed will help to increase efficiency and increase the capacity to deliver, with leadership at all levels "crucial".

Mark Hand, Director of Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Cymru and member of the task force, notes that while the task force focused on meeting the Welsh Government's target of 20,000 low-carbon homes for social rent by May 2026, "many of its recommendations are relevant across the wider housing sector".

"It is particularly positive to see the recognition of the vital role private sector developers play in delivering affordable housing – the strengths of all sectors will be necessary to achieve our shared goal".

"One critical issue highlighted in the report is the urgent need for intervention mechanisms when local development plans are delayed. Right now, we face a delivery vacuum that needs to be addressed".

"I’d also like to acknowledge the pace and collaborative spirit of the task force, with valuable contributions from members and guests alike. Importantly, RTPI Cymru members shaped the discussion through a dedicated round table, ensuring member feedback led to real action".

Other recommendations in the report include:

• the Welsh Government needs to develop a pipeline of suitable available land with local authorities, health boards, Transport for Wales (TfW), and other custodians of public land such as the Ministry of Defence - the land division should proactively identify land that may be brought forward for development, and a register or unused land needs to be maintained and use to inform strategic planning;
• each project should be allocated a senior officer to provide council-wide project management and to coordinate decisions across the local authority - they should be publicly listed as a single point of contact and be responsible for the progress of a scheme, and empowered to make decisions when there are trade-offs to be made within a project;
• permitted development rights currently only allow developments to exist for one year without full planning approval - the panel believes this should be extended to seven, given the complexity of site development;
• developers have told the task force that there needs to be transparency on how commuted sums are calculated - local planning authorities should publish supplementary planning guidance setting out their requirements and rationale;
• the local planning authority is a decision-making body and does not need to wait for a statutory consultee where it has not responded within the statutory time frame - they need to take a managed risk approach to determine applications, weighing up the risk of a legal challenge if their decision is not based on advice from a statutory consultee, and planning conditions should be discharged by local authorities within eight weeks.

In a written statement, Bryant says the work of the task force "provides valuable opportunity to do more, faster".

"The number of recommendations made by the task force is a reminder that there is not one simple solution to expediting delivery. Instead, there are a number of ways we can improve the system as a whole, and we must do so. I will accept the recommendations that fall to me and will speak to my cabinet colleagues where recommendations are within their responsibilities".

For more information on this subject, see:

• Affordable Housing Taskforce: report and recommendations.