Key Facts

• Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, gives evidence to the Committee.
• The West Midlands has a balanced political composition with an equal number of Conservative and Labour MPs and councils.
• Every major financial decision over the past five years has been taken unanimously by the board.
• Andy Street champions brownfield site development and regeneration in the West Midlands.
• The combined authority has hit its housing target over the last four or five years, doubling home construction annually pre-pandemic.
• Street advocates for expanding mayoral combined authorities to fill natural economic areas.
• The public land charter addresses long-term value to the regional economy.
• There is concern over the absence of waiver ability in a proposed fixed system for the infrastructure levy.
• Coventry's housing need growth prediction by ONS is more than 30% over 10 years, significantly higher than the West Midlands average of about 11%.
• The percentage of British people who trust planners to improve local neighbourhoods is in medium single figures.
• Trust in developers among the population is between 4% and 7%.
• UK has the lowest houses to households ratio in the western world.
• New development often worsens perceived quality of life for communities.
• The Bill includes a chapter dedicated to heritage (chapter 3).
• Clause 185 would make historic environment records statutory.
• Clauses 92, 93, and 94 extend protection of heritage assets, introduce stop notices for heritage consent regimes, and allow urgent works in certain cases.
• The Bill focuses on protecting heritage in left-behind towns like Grimsby, Hull, and Stoke-on-Trent.
• There is a risk of reducing the quality of urban infrastructure due to lack of listing for late Victorian and early 20th century buildings.
• Planning departments struggle with resource allocation and require more expertise for handling heritage assets.
• Clause 93 in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill addresses stop notices for unscrupulous developers.
• Lizzie Glithero-West supports clause 93 but emphasizes the need for clarity in transitional systems between Bills.
• Rachael Maskell raises concerns about omissions from the Bill and seeks elaboration on environmental outcomes reports.
• Hedgerows and footpaths are maintained by farmers and are crucial for the heritage and character of rural communities.
• The Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission heard that people desire new housing developments that fit into their local context rather than being generic.
• There is a need to allow more flexibility in design codes to accommodate traditional village street layouts.
• The discussion includes points about the importance of local plans and their impact on housing market concentration.
• Lizzie Glithero-West emphasizes the need for fiscal incentives for heritage preservation and repair.
• Dr Richard Benwell represents Wildlife and Countryside Link, a coalition of 65 environmental charities.
• 40,000 premature deaths occur annually from air pollution in the UK.
• People from the lowest socioeconomic backgrounds are nine times less likely to have access to high-quality natural green spaces compared to others.
• Ethnic minority communities are twice as likely to live in areas lacking access to natural green space.
• CPRE is leading a coalition of environmental, social, and community organisations called the Better Planning Coalition.
• The current duty in the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 for local authorities to contribute towards climate change mitigation and adaptation is insufficient.
• Recent planning stats reports show only one mention of climate change out of 24 adopted local plans aimed at boosting housing supply.
• Brownfield land can accommodate over 1 million new homes annually.
• Changing compulsory purchase order powers and implementing an infrastructure levy may aid in brownfield regeneration.
• Measures should be taken to ensure that housing targets reflect local needs for affordable homes.
• Peter Bone addresses the need for clarity in environmental missions and devolution.
• Proposes a lead climate change authority approach to coordinate efforts among different sectors.
• Emphasizes the importance of aligning data collection with local needs to influence funding pots appropriately.
• 11% loss in urban green space over the past 15 years.
• The importance of identifying and preserving spaces that matter to local communities, whether they are brownfield or greenfield sites.
• Paul Miner raises concerns about clause 83 of the Bill.
• Clause 83 needs amendment to ensure local authorities can decide applications based on both local and national policies.
• The current drafting of clause 83 makes it more difficult for local councils to implement Merton rule-style policies.
• The TCPA is concerned about centralising tendencies in the Bill.
• Clauses 82 to 84 and schedule 7 could impact public participation rights.
• Strategic plans currently exclude the right to be heard at an examination.
• Through the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill, powers will be devolved at scale over transport and regeneration.
• The Bill aims to make it easier and quicker to set up new combined authorities, especially in two-tier areas.
• Measures include infrastructure levy, CPO reforms, high street rental options, street votes, and heritage protections.
• Kate Henderson introduces herself as the chief executive of the National Housing Federation.
• Gavin Smart is introduced as the chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing.
• Matthew Pennycook questions the effectiveness of the Infrastructure Levy on affordable housing delivery.
• Concerns are raised about the impact of the levy on lower-value sites and its role in maintaining affordable housing levels.
• Section 106 planning obligations currently deliver around 50% of all affordable housing in England.
• The Bill proposes retaining section 106 agreements for larger sites, though the size has not been determined yet.
• A new infrastructure levy will be introduced to ensure inclusive and mixed communities with high standards.
• Protracted section 106 negotiations can reduce the amount of affordable housing delivered.
• Transparency on land ownership and clauses in part 7 on compulsory purchase are seen as welcome measures to help deliver affordable housing.
• The infrastructure levy is intended to be costed into the price, which factors into what developers are willing to pay for land.
• The Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill aims to speed up and improve regeneration by introducing new powers.
• It includes provisions for infrastructure levy, compulsory purchase order powers, high street rental auctions, street votes, heritage protections, and land market transparency.
• The Bill seeks to establish a greater level of strategic authority in the planning system.
• Street votes are a method to encourage communities to increase density in high-demand areas without expanding into greenfields.
• The speaker believes it will take at least five years before street votes could make a significant impact on the housing crisis.
• Street votes aim to recycle space in existing urban areas, particularly in Metroland regions of London.
• Peter Bone is chairing the Public Bill Committee.
• The discussion involves the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill.
• Alex Morton's think-tank will release a paper titled “The case for house building.”
• Reducing stamp duty could boost transaction levels in the housing market.
• The backlog of unmet housing demand is significant and requires multiple measures to address.
• This Bill includes provisions on compulsory purchase, land assembly, spatial planning, and development corporations.
• No specific actions or proposals are outlined.
• The discussion covers various aspects of streamlining planning and local plans as well as strengthening reporting requirements for levelling-up missions.