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Durrants celebrates South Norfolk Class Q appeal success

Durrants celebrates South Norfolk Class Q appeal success

Durrants Jasmine Philpott, Senior Planner and Development Surveyor describes a South Norfolk Class Q appeal success story. 

Durrants and a longstanding client are celebrating this week after a Class Q application on a redundant farm near Harleston were overturned by the Planning Inspectorate, despite being refused twice by the Council.

18 months after the first Class Q application was refused, PINS allowed the appeal and awarded costs against South Norfolk Council for their unreasonable behaviour during the appeal.

The background

Class Q allows for the change of use of an agricultural building to one or more dwellings. Class Q legislation is more restrictive than planning policy, but is generally also less subjective, meaning it is usually easier to predict whether an application will succeed.

The barn in question was surrounded by numerous redundant farm buildings owned by the applicant. They were empty at the time the application was made. Another agricultural building in separate ownership was located around 40m from the application site. As part of the first application, Durrants showed the redundant buildings to be demolished on plan, and suggested that their demolition could be conditioned as part of the planning approval. This was standard practice in South Norfolk previously, and Durrants had made numerous applications in which buildings outside of the application area were conditioned for demolition in this way.

The refusal

The first Class Q application was unexpectedly refused, as the Council was of the opinion that it was not possible to impose planning conditions on Class Q approvals anymore, and that the buildings would need to be demolished before a new application is made.

As many readers will appreciate, demolishing buildings can be very costly, and would have been a risky course of action given that there was a chance that a subsequent application might be refused.

The Council were also of the view that the neighbouring barn outside the applicant’s ownership could be intensified in use, in a way that could result in noise, odour and insects disturbing future occupants.

Durrants resubmitted the application, supported by noise and odour reports from independent consultants, both of which found that the risk of any disturbance in these regards was low. Alterations were also made to the design to provide additional mitigation against these risks. The Council’s Environmental Protection Officer (EPO) had no objection to the application. The Council however refused the application for a second time despite the findings of the reports and their EPO.

The appeal

An appeal was subsequently lodged. During the appeal, the Council conceded that their position on the ability to place conditions on prior approvals was wrong. Half of their reason for refusal thus fell away.

The Inspector ultimately allowed the appeal, citing the noise and odour reports, the lack of objection from the EPO and the reality that future residents of a rural area will reasonably expect a degree of disturbance from agricultural activities as reasons for her conclusion. She also agreed with Durrants’ argument that the barn outside of the applicant’s ownership was too small to ever be used intensively.

This appeal was a huge win for us and our client, and set an important precedent on this issue that will be useful for future Class Q applicants in South Norfolk and elsewhere.  

This article first appeared in the Diss Express, published 13th December 2024.

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Beam Me Up Scotty

Beam Me Up Scotty

Dominic Parravani of Durrants explores how sci-fi can help a large group of house sellers replace starry-eyed ambition with more earthly logic.

Many of those old enough to remember the original Star Trek TV series may now be considering making a most important move – leaving their starship and downsizing. With no need for lots of space, which is expensive to run and increasingly difficult to maintain, an easier life beckons in more suitable accommodation.

This is a pivotal moment for people of a certain age who are preparing to boldly go and seek out a new life. The decision to downsize and move is not one to be taken lightly, as it involves significant amounts of money and the lure of a comfortable future lifestyle. The gravity of this choice underscores its importance.

For some help in this matter it is useful to adopt the logic and emotional detachment of Mr Spock rather than the unquestioning optimism of Captain James T Kirk. For instance, which is more important, that you move house cleanly, quickly and easily or you hang out for an arbitrary selling price you feel your home is worth or which has been suggested to you by friends and family? Without any doubt Mr Spock would advocate that moving is the more important outcome and that the price you achieve will inevitably be what someone else is willing, ready and able to pay. As Mr Spock once said in season 3, episode 9, “In critical moments, men sometimes see exactly what they wish to see.”.

Adopting logic, dampening sentiment, and engineering sales are what estate agents do every day. They are the Spock and Scotty on board the Enterprise, indispensable to the process. Just as Capt. Kirk can’t do without them, sellers need the expertise of their estate agents to guide them through to their next voyage. Live long and prosper!

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The importance of your guide price

The importance of your guide price

George Berry, Residential Area Manager looks at the importance of your guide price when selling a home and what buyers and sellers can do to achieve the best results. 

When selling a house, the higher the guide price, the more significant comprises become. When the property market is buoyant, people are more likely to overlook compromises for fear of escalating prices and missing out. However, as soon as the market starts tightening the compromises loom larger.  

Therefore, it is crucial when setting a guide price to not be too greedy. Show a buyer you are mindful of the flaws and you have factored them into the pricing. Buyers will appreciate this and it will give you a far stronger hand when they try to negotiate. 

There is no getting away from the fact that the market is challenging. Agents that say otherwise are trying to dupe you and you will only be left disappointed by overpromising and under- delivering.  

Unlocking the market 

There are many people wanting to move but so much of the market is held up but the reliance upon linked transactions and dependant buyers. Many of those are struggling to sell for two reasons.

Firstly, many buyers are struggling with mortgage affordability and the second is overpricing.

I have never witnessed the country and property market come to a pause in the anticipation of a budget like we have just seen. It goes to show how instantly reactive we have become and that is because every pound in our pocket counts and those available pounds are dwindling with tax levels and the cost of living being so high.

If interest rates drop and mortgage rates follow, then we will hopefully see the market start to unlock as this will give more buyers the confidence and funds to move. 

What are buyers looking for? 

These are some key factors that may help protect the value of your home if the market is tough.

For some time, it has been widely known that there is a ‘Waitrose Effect’. Research by Property Solvers in 2022  showed properties in locations serviced by a Waitrose had higher values than those without. There will be exceptions to the rule for other reasons but generally it is deemed if the location is acceptable for Waitrose then it is a solid area to invest.

Transport links are very important. They always play a pivotal role so when you are selling it will give you a wider buying audience. Towns that have commuting stations will prove to be more resilient as they will appeal to buyers moving into the area. Easy access to Norwich or Diss station is a strong pull for those needing to get to London, or Attleborough and Wymondham for those needing Cambridge. 

Schools are hugely significant. Many families will base their entire search around a school catchment. When looking for a school, parents look at Ofsted ratings so it is logical to assume that when looking for a house the school may dictate the location. Therefore if you buy a house because of a good school nearby then your buyers will do the same when you sell. 

These three factors are just a handful of things that can give you a wider pool of buyers but also protect the value and saleability of your home.  

If you live in areas where you do not have these, please don’t worry. It just means your home may have to work a bit harder in a tougher market. You can help this.  

Presentation affects price 

There is a direct correlation between price and presentation and if you ensure first impressions are excellent and  your home is well-presented, you will put yourself in a far stronger position versus those near you on the market.  

That just leaves sensible guide prices. Even in the tough market we are in, we are seeing competition being  generated if the guides are attractive. Work with what you have to make it the best it can be and you will ultimately achieve the best result. 

This article first appeared in the Diss Express.

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Budging the market along

budging the market along

Durrants Managing Director, Dominic Parravani, explores how much impact the 2024 Budget has had on property buyers and sellers.

What did the hotly anticipated 2024 budget from Chancellor Rachel Reeves do for those looking to buy or sell a property?

Apart from a few initiatives such as the post Second World War new homes building programme, Thatcher’s Right to Buy legislation, the 1988 cessation of mortgage interest relief at source (MIRAS) and the 2022 mini-Budget, governments don’t often seem to impact the UK property market in a direct way.  Significant market fluctuations have usually been the result of referred influence from domestic economic performance and events such as a pandemic and global financial depression, leading to major market upheavals.

This latest budget appears to have done little to move the dial in property, and the jury will be out for a few years until we know if the new government will be able to make good on its promise of planning reforms and its new homes building programme.

So what has the 2024 budget done for us? Apart from what some might term as several mean and short-sighted measures affecting specific market sectors, the budget has removed much of the uncertainty of the past few months for many would-be movers who have been hanging on to see what might happen. The budget has given buyers and sellers room to plan with some predictability. As budgets go, it could have been much worse for the property market.

If you’re thinking of making your next move, please get in touch with your nearest Durrants branch today.

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Affordable housing: what is it and why is it such a political hot potato?

Affordable Housing

Durrants Jasmine Philpott, Senior Planner and Development Surveyor looks at affordable housing and discusses why it is such a political hot potato. 

In my experience, ‘affordable housing’ is a largely misunderstood term, despite being one of the most talked about topics in political discourse, particularly under the new government.

It is widely known that there is a housing shortage in this country, with a particularly acute need for affordable housing. But what exactly does ‘affordable’ mean, and why are we still struggling to deliver enough affordable homes?

Affordable housing is effectively today’s label for social housing (previously council housing). Unlike market housing, affordable housing is built specifically for those who are on the local authority’s housing waiting list because they cannot afford to rent or buy at market prices.

Affordable housing takes many forms, including social rent (the cheapest form of rent for those on very low incomes), affordable rent (up to 80% of market rent), and shared ownership (where only part of the property is purchased and the rest remains the ownership of the social housing provider).

The key difference between today’s affordable housing and the council housing built before the 1980s is that now, affordable housing is generally not delivered by local authorities. It is almost always owned and managed by Registered Providers (RPs). These are not-for-profit organisations which were set up when social housing was privatised in the 1980s. Some RPs build their own affordable homes, but many of them bid for affordable housing that is part of private-led housing schemes built out by private developers. In this situation, the RP purchases the homes at a percentage of market value, the developer builds them to the RP’s specification, and the RP takes ownership of them once completed, managing them under one of the various tenures listed above.

RPs receive some government funding, but this has been cut in recent years, meaning many of them have set up private development arms to fund their affordable element, which can also allow them to access funding from Homes England. An example of this is Clarion, the largest affordable housing provider in the UK, whose private development arm, Latimer, reinvests all of its profits into Clarion.

As you can imagine, this system is flawed, because it largely relies on private developers to deliver affordable housing, which is often unviable by the time ever-increasing build costs, land values and other costs like CIL, Section 106, biodiversity net gain etc are factored into the scheme. This then means that developers are forced to try to negotiate less affordable housing with the Council.

By comparison, in the 30 years following WWII, more than 100,000 social homes were built per year in England. Social housing made up a quarter of all UK homes by the 1960s. In 2018, just 7,000 were built. Right to Buy in the 1980s gave many people the chance to buy their Council house at a reduced price, but around 175,000 council homes were purchased every year throughout the 1980s under Right to Buy (over 4 million in total), and never replaced.

With around 1.2 million households on the waiting list (and 12,000 in Norfolk), it is easy to see the extent of the shortage and why this subject is inevitably a priority for government. However, some good news is that since the all time low of 2018, last year saw 63,605 affordable homes delivered in the UK. And in our area, Station View, Diss is a 100% affordable scheme, with others underway across South Norfolk.

It should be noted that councils often exercised their powers to compulsory purchase the land needed to deliver social housing during that era, which would be very unpopular today. Planning was also alot more straightforward then, with biodiversity, climate change or even location seemingly of little concern compared to now. So while tempting to yearn for a return of the pre-1980s social housing model, it was certainly not without its flaws.

This article first appeared in the Diss Express.

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Be a Better Buyer

Be a Better Buyer

Dominic Parravani explains how to choose the perfect future dream home and win in the house-buying stakes.

You don’t buy a dream home, you make a dream home. At best you buy someone else’s dream and then change it to fit your best vision. Ten-out-of-ten houses are the unicorns of property. Even those who have custom-built their homes discover there are things they should have done differently. For buyers a nine is best, good is an eight and seven might be OK. If you accept this truth you are on the way to becoming a better buyer.

So embrace the not quite right and then put it right. Celebrate hideous, badly replaced windows, for in time you will replace them properly, improving insulation, reducing energy bills and, with the correct style, increasing the property’s value. Delight in an overgrown jungle of a garden that’s putting perfectionist buyers off and keeping the value down, and pick up your spade. It won’t be an instant value gain but given time it will be – and think of the mental and physical benefits you will gain on the way.

Sniff out the improvers, those properties that will become more valuable because of schools Ofsted is noticing for the right reasons. Understand how future planning will affect local areas for better or worse and choose neighbourhoods that will become more popular and, in turn, gain value.

Be patient. It is generally taking far too long to transact property, so dig in for the long haul by selecting well and accepting there will be bumps along the way.

Be prepared. When that perfect imperfect house becomes available, be ready to seize the opportunity. Have your finances in order, a buyer lined up, and a complete chain if necessary. Make it hard for a serious seller to refuse your reasonable proposal.

Don’t judge the book by the cover. That house with the ideal interior for you but ghastly frontage may not make you happy. But what if a good local architect could transform that elevation into a handsome head-turner that turns a five out of ten into a nine out of ten?

Learn to love your estate agent. They already know all those things you need to find out.

Looking for a new place to live needn’t be a chore or a lottery. But it is a campaign with a dream at the end – home.

 

If you’re thinking of making your next move, please get in touch with your nearest Durrants branch today.

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The Bigger Picture

Durrants - The bigger picture

Durrants Residential Area Manager, George Berry, explains why looking at both the sale of your home together with the purchase of your next one can help you navigate the property market. 

Look at the bigger picture when selling your home

Can you have the mindset of a buyer and mindset of a seller at the same time in the property market?
As a buyer, you want to get the best value you can and buy a property for the least amount possible. As a seller, you want to achieve the highest possible price within the market conditions. It is easy to see that these two stances are polar opposites. So where does this lead?

The buyer and seller stance

Those that choose the seller stance focus solely on selling and maximising value without looking at the next purchase. They tend to be prepared to break the chain and go into rented to make themselves stronger buyers.

Those that take the buyer stance and focus on seeking their new home can often weaken their position. If they fall in love with a property but are not in a position to proceed themselves, then any offer is unlikely to be accepted.

It also weakens their negotiating power as a seller is less likely to give a reduction if they are not in a strong position. If you opt for this route, you could potentially find your dream home but left heartbroken if the stars don’t align for everything to fall into place.

In a challenging market, how do we move forward in a way to ensure we are in the strongest position on both sides? It is worth looking at the bigger picture.

Reality is key

Many start the sales process with a view of what they think their house is worth. Agents then may have a mixed opinion on what the value is. I would suggest the agent that speaks to you candidly about the market and the reality of the situation is going to be the most sensible. It might not be what you want to hear but it will be honest.

You will never undersell a property and this is really important to remember. If the guide proves to be on the lighter side, it will generate increased viewings leading to multiple offers and in turn a higher price being achieved. If you base your search on your lower figure, then it will only be a bonus if you achieve more for your property.

What happens more often is vendors are told big figures by agents. In some cases, the vendors drive the guide prices themselves. All that happens is the market confirms it is too high and either you will have limited or no viewings at all. You then have to reduce, potentially more than once. The end result will be receiving offers for less than if you had started at a lower level.

If you take this approach and look at the same time for a purchase, you are likely to be left very disappointed. You may have to accept less for yours meaning you cannot afford to buy your dream home.

Manage expectations

It is an agent’s job to manage expectations. A good agent will then meet and surpass expectations. However, it is vitally important that your expectations are sensible from the start and that you can listen to advice. An agent can’t control the market but they can control how you are looked after and that starts with honesty.

If you take the view that everything is relative you can have the same mindset. If you have to take a drop in price it is likely that your purchase will have to do the same.

If everyone had this stance then the market would be a lot smoother with far more potential sales unlocked that are being prevented due to stubbornness.

We all want everything, and often all at once, but that isn’t realistic. However, you can have more if you focus on your sale and purchase together within the bigger picture rather than isolated incidences.

This article fist appeared in the Diss Express.

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Property Market Weather Report

property market

Durrants Managing Director, Dominic Parravani, takes a look at the property scene as we enter the prime post summer and back-to-school market.

Confusion reigns, and we all get wet, or at least some do. Others carry umbrellas.

The property market is in one of its more confusing phases and there are some essential things that we need to learn, such as what will happen in one of the most hotly anticipated budgets for decades this autumn.

Will it, for instance, affect inheritance and capital gains taxes, and what will that mean to property buyer and seller sentiment? Will the result of the US general election send a shock wave to our economy in November?

We need to find out whether the government’s plan to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years is realistic. Has anyone worked out that it will mean over 800 houses being finished across the country every day?

We are now two months into this government. That means roughly 50,000 homes should have been built thus far to stay on target. Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he wants to work at speed. He will certainly need to.

But there are things we do know which will give us confidence that entering the property market this autumn shouldn’t risk a soaking. We know that mortgage rates are slowly decreasing, and that each rate drop brings more buyers into the market.

These buyers are also buoyed by reported falling costs and improving job stability. The result is more buyers at a time when increasing numbers of properties are becoming available. This greater equilibrium should stabilise the market, at least until the end of the year.

Fortune hunters favour market turbulence, but the rest of us favour balance. Some buyers will eagerly study the trends, trying to anticipate the moment some personal algorithm or cost/risk ratio analysis alerts them that financial opportunity has reached its zenith.

But for most of us life events like getting a mortgage, securing a job, running out of space, the school holidays and Christmas are the catalysts that occasion a home move and actually drive the market as a whole.

So it’s OK to weather the market this autumn. Certainly there will be one or two showers so take an umbrella, but overall the outlook is sunny.

If you’re thinking of making your next move, please get in touch with your nearest Durrants branch today.

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Three big changes in planning and how they could affect you

planning

The Labour government has wasted no time in implementing their promised overhaul of the current planning system. The announcement of these potential changes has coincided with other local policy developments, which could combine to significantly change the planning landscape in our area – hopefully for the better.

Durrants’ Senior Planner and Diss resident, Jasmine Philpott, summarises the changes.

  1. District-wide support for rural self and custom build housing

The Greater Norwich Local Plan (GNLP), which covers South Norfolk, Broadland and Norwich, was adopted in March this year. The Plan contains policies which guide development across these three districts, alongside more specific documents which focus solely on South Norfolk.

One of the policies brought into force supports applications for up to 3 self or custom build dwellings adjacent to rural settlements or rural built-up areas. This is the only local plan in Norfolk or Suffolk to offer such endorsement for self-build housing outside of major settlements.

Self and custom build housing allows people to build their own home to live in, versus a developer building homes and selling them once completed. Broadly speaking, a self-build home is one which the owner has physically built themselves, whereas a custom-build home generally means the owner has hired contractors to carry out the work to their own specification. Either way, the key factor is that the owner of the plot will live in the house once it is built.

To qualify for a plot, you must be registered on the District’s self-build register (which you can easily find online). The Council are currently consulting on whether to introduce a local connection test to qualify for the register.

For local landowners with small parcels of land adjacent to existing housing (i.e. a hamlet or village), this new policy could be an opportunity for an outline application, with a view to then sell the plots to self-builders.

However, it is important to bear in mind that if you are in the Nutrient Neutrality catchment, which roughly spans the area west of Bunwell – Topcroft – Rockland St Mary, you will likely not be able to secure planning permission in the current circumstances. More on this below.

  1. Unlocking development held up by Nutrient Neutrality

Around half of South Norfolk is within the Nutrient Neutrality catchment. Planning applications for housing in these areas have been largely stalled since March 2022 due to water quality concerns. However, the Labour government have indicated that they will be unlocking development in affected areas.

The latest idea is to allow permission to be granted, with occupation of dwellings prevented until nutrient concerns have been addressed. The full details of the government’s proposals have yet to be confirmed.

  1. A new National Planning Policy Framework

The NPPF is the national planning document which dictates how district-level planning can be undertaken. Consultation on significant changes to the Framework is currently underway, and anyone can comment on the draft document.

Among the key amendments proposed, the new NPPF would change the way in which housing need is calculated, ultimately meaning that more houses will be built in each District. More pressure will be placed on Councils to deliver their housing supply and to have up to date local plans.

More support for developing brownfield land is proposed, as well as expanding the definition thereof to allow more land uses to qualify. And controversially, more support is given for clean energy, including onshore wind which had become almost extinct under the previous government.

As expected, the Planning climate in our area is changing to one that is fundamentally pro-development. This will come as good news to some, and bad news to others. However, there are opportunities to be had for many of us that did not exist under the previous government, which I think can only be positive.

This article originally appeared in the print edition of the Diss Express.

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What Are We Waiting For

What are we waiting for

Dominic Parravani of Durrants finds grounds for optimism for the Autumn property market following the General Election.

Hush, don’t mention green shoots. Those two words are guaranteed to put the mockers on just about anything. However – whisper it quietly we must – there is a stirring in the property market. After what seems like forever more properties are becoming available, giving buyers a greater choice and putting some fun back into house-hunting.

It’s far too early for the newly-elected government to take the credit, but the general election has enabled us to cross one item off the long list of things people are waiting for before they buy and sell property.

There always seems to be something on the list. Now it could be the end of the summer holidays, the US general election or Christmas. These events may have varying degrees of impact on the property market through influencing buyer and seller behaviour. Another thing buyers may be waiting for is a reduction in mortgage interest rates which, on current expectations, could be this month or next. But with more property becoming available and some confidence returning there is a real chance the property market will shake off the lethargy of the past few years. It may even have done so already.

Over the longer term the new government will have to fulfil its pre-election housing promises. The Labour Party has pledged to build 1.5 million homes over five years, partly by streamlining the planning process and recruiting 300 additional planning officers. If these promises are kept they could significantly impact the property market, potentially further increasing supply and making home purchase more affordable. The new minister of housing, Angela Rayner, is spearheading this bold initiative. Rayner is the twenty-second Minister of Housing in the past twenty years. Labour are making housing a pivotal part of the country’s growth strategy. Finally, someone seems to have read the memo.

Let’s hope we will get the homes we’ve been promised. But in the meantime, let’s stop waiting and realise something all good estate agents know: that the best time to buy and sell property is when the buyer and the seller are ready, willing and able. There really is no better time.

To find your dream home visit Durrants today.

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What does a Labour government mean for the planning system?

What does a Labour government mean for the planning system?

17th July 2024

After 14 years of Conservative government, Labour is now at the helm. We take a look at the implications a Labour government has for local and national planning policy.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves outlined a plan to ‘rebuild Britain’ in her first speech as Chancellor on 8th July, with an aim to build 300,000 homes a year. Yesterday’s King’s Speech announced 40 bills focusing on housebuilding, fiscal responsibility, growth, devolution and energy. In line with the commitment to unlock house building came an announcement of new compulsory purchase rules to help Councils assemble the land needed to deliver developments.

One of the changes announced was an immediate reform of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which sets out the Government’s planning policies, and is set for consultation before the end of the month. The new NPPF is likely to reverse a lot of the recent changes introduced by the previous government, including reinstating mandatory housing targets and strengthening the presumption in favour of sustainable development. This gives developers and landowners more leverage to achieve planning permissions where local authorities do not have an up to date local plan, or are failing to deliver on their housing targets.

There is also likely to be mandatory reviews of green belts, and a big increase in support for infrastructure projects, including for onshore wind, which was made almost impossible under recent planning reforms. The government have promised a new task force for unlocking stalled developments, which includes Northstowe just across the border in Cambridgeshire. In addition to releasing funds to hire 300 new planning officers (around 1 per local authority), it is quite clear that the government is putting housing and infrastructure at the centre of its policies. 

The King’s Speech also announced a push for combined local authorities to prepare local plans together. This is not new and has been done many times before – a good local example being the Greater Norwich Local Plan, covering South Norfolk and Broadland. They do often run into practical challenges, so it remains to be seen how much this will change the local plan landscape. Their commitment to devolution will be an important part of this, giving more power to local leaders to direct spatial growth in their areas.

Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary, has already overturned two refused planning appeals for data centres. Having grown up in social housing, Rayner is likely to push policy reform which allows the delivery of more social housing. This could include more support for new towns, similar to those delivered under the 1945 Labour government after WWII. Rayner has spoken of unlocking housing which is stalled by Nutrient Neutrality, but has not clarified how this will be achieved.

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook will be supporting Rayner. He was heavily involved in the Renters Reform Bill, which sought to increase security for renters and remove no-fault evictions.

There has been no particular mention of rural housing delivery, nor whether there will be any changes to planning policy which relates to farms (such as Class Q).

What about in our area?

Norfolk and Suffolk saw considerable change in the election, notably with Green MP Adrian Ramsay taking the Waveney Valley seat, Reform UK winning in Great Yarmouth, and Lib Dems taking North Norfolk.

Nutrient Neutrality is arguably the most significant obstacle facing the sector in Norfolk, so how Labour strikes the balance between its environmental policies and its commitment to unlock housing development will be crucial for our area.

What are our thoughts?

The changes announced are certainly bold, and in line with what would be expected of a Labour government. A commitment to facilitating housing development is very welcome, and the new government seems to understand what is required on a legislative level to make this happen. Though likely to prove unpopular, new compulsory purchase powers are essential if the government wants to deliver enough affordable housing, though it is unclear whether they plan to overhaul the current system where registered providers (not Councils) deliver the housing.

In our area, Nutrient Neutrality is a huge constraint to development, and striking the balance between their commitment to environmental responsibility and unlocking housing development will be a difficult task.

Written by Jasmine Philpott, Senior Planner and Development Surveyor

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Durrants at the Norfolk Show

Durrants at the Norfolk Show

Durrants had a wonderful time at the Norfolk Show, enjoying the vibrant atmosphere and many exhibits. It was lovely to see so many familiar faces, catching up with old friends and making new connections. The event was a perfect blend of community spirit and entertainment, leaving everyone looking forward to the next gathering.