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Winchester T: 01962 893 893 F: 01962 893 883
London T: 020 7812 6490 F: 020 7812 6677
info@remarkable-engagement.co.uk
Find out more about Localism visit localism-agenda.com
Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), unveiled details of the government's New Homes Bonus scheme yesterday which will include a contribution towards implementing the coalition's flagship localism agenda.
The scheme, outlined by George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the Comprehensive Spending Review on Wednesday, seeks to encourage authorities to approve the development of housing in the wake of the revocation of Regional Spatial Strategies by matching the council tax raised on each new property developed for six years.
In a letter issued to council leaders on Thursday, Pickles outlined funding of £950m over four years, comprising £196m in 2011/12 and £250m per year until 2014/15. In addition to this, councils will be given a grant specifically aimed at implementing the localism policies, outlined in Open Source Planning, the Conservative's planning Green Paper. Osborne reiterated the coalition's commitment to localism in his speech on the Comprehensive Spending Review.
The grant will be phased over the next four years, totalling between £50m and £55m.
A spokesperson for the DCLG said: "The coalition government is committed to a radical reform of the planning system to give neighbourhoods far more ability to determine the shape of the places in which people live...This funding is to support Local Authorities in the implementation of these reforms."
A spokesperson for the Royal Town Planning Institute said: "This looks like money to help with transitional arrangements to the new planning system. If this is the case, then it is a small amount, but set against significant cuts in public expenditure any news is welcome news.
"Open Source Planning represents a significant change in the system, and it will be important for planners - and crucial for the economy - for the new system to work from the word go."
The DCLG saw its budget slashed by 33% in Wednesday's spending review, including a 60% reduction to contributions to social housing (despite a commitment to develop 150,000 affordable homes in the next four years).
As the fallout from the review continued, Sir Bob Kerslake, incoming Permanent Secretary at the DCLG, warned staff in a memo that the department was entering a period of "unprecedented change" which would see it become a "smaller department".
He wrote: "This department's role will alter significantly. We will be doing more enabling and less intervening. We will stop doing some things, and we will prioritise others. We will need to play a more strategic role, punching our weight among partners in Whitehall."
Writing in today's Financial Times about the impact of the spending review on local authorities, Pickles argued the case for councils to work more smartly:
"Lazy councils will be tempted to slash and burn. Complacent councils will just ‘salami slice' services, expecting budgets to soon swell again. But the days of throwing money at problems are over, and this government will have little truck with laziness or complacency..."
Noting that councils would be given far greater autonomy under the coalition, Pickles issued a warning that the freedom required them to work "responsibly:
"In the 19th century local government pioneered everything from primary education to electricity generation. Municipal giants such as Joseph Chamberlain changed the face of Britain's towns and cities. In the face of today's budget challenges, local government must once again show the same leadership, drive and ambition."
The Devolution and Localism Bill, which will contain many of the proposals set out in Open Source Planning, is expected to be published later this year.
