Template Lobbying Letter: No area threshold for the ‘Medium’ sized site

Introduction

In the Government’s ‘Planning Reform Working Paper: Reforming Site Thresholds’, the 10 to 49 Medium sized site definition includes a threshold of 1 hectare, which means any development above 1 hectare would not meet the definition of ‘Medium’ sized, or avail of the streamlined and proportionate planning approaches attached to it.

Under a justification of ‘increasing density’, in practice this definition would exclude too many SME housebuilders, while misunderstanding the continual increase in non-housing land that development sites must set aside. Yet the size doesn’t even work for councils!

Most importantly for SMEs, it hands the initiative to landowners, land promoters, investors and contracting builders, who are most likely to squeeze as much development onto a site as possible, rather than plan for local markets in conjunction with placemaking policy and high quality design.

Instructions

There are two ways you can do this.

You can contact your local MP through the WriteToThem website. This way does require you to write the letter in your own words, drawing on your own beliefs and experiences, however you are able to use our policy call to actions from the below letter.

1. Go to the WriteToThem website here: https://www.writetothem.com/ 
2. Enter your postcode
3. Choose your local representative (Member of Parliament)
4. Write your letter
5. Fill out your details and click ‘review and send’

Alternatively you can send an exact copy of the below letter. To do this you will need to use your own email.

1. Find your local MP and their contact details here: https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP 
2. Copy and paste the entire letter into an email
3. Send from your own email address

Letter Text

Dear

As a locally employing and investing business in your constituency, we applaud the working paper ‘Reforming Site Thresholds’ which proposes a ‘Medium’ sized site of 10 to 49 homes but only if the redline is under 1 hectare. For most SMEs’ this does not work and so the area based measurement must be removed.

Proportionate planning to help SMEs cannot work if most of them are excluded and sadly, the one hectare limit and any measured area threshold would leave many out. It would also see council projects, Housing Associations schemes, self and custom build, Community Land Trusts, and cooperative housing impacted.

The reality is, that non-housing land use on residential developments is increasing and will increase with electrification, environmental schemes and utility connection challenges, to name a few.

The House Builders Association (HBA) report, ‘Size ‘still’ Matters: Dwellings Matter More’, details some of these land uses and why the threshold does not  work for SMEs. It also highlights that councils already control density via dwellings per hectare limits and so the Government simply needs to set a home (unit) threshold nationally to help SMEs, so councils can tailor projects (not proportionate planning) to their local needs.

The current proposal is a working paper, with a view to a consultation, therefore now is the perfect time to ensure the future consultation starts on the right foot and we hope to count on your support.

If you would like to attend a site to see how placemaking should always trump forced density, we would be delighted to host you. [DELETE AS APPROPRIATE]

Yours sincerely,