Trees in every street to end ‘identikit estates’

ALL new streets will have to be treelined under proposed planning laws that will bring an end to “identikit estates”.

Green-belt land will remain protected and new-build homes will be in keeping with their surroundings.

Ministers will also speed up the planning process in what Robert Jenrick, the Housing Secretary, called a “once in a generation” reform.

Mr Jenrick will publish a White Paper entitled Planning for the Future, which will form the basis for new laws, expected to be in place by next year.

He said last night that the current planning system had been “a barrier to building the homes people need”.

The Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government said the reforms would also mean a fasttrack system for “beautiful buildings”.

A government source said: “Lots of people are worried about their children and grandchildren being able to get on the housing ladder but they are still nervous about new development.

“Often the reason people are against developments is because they are identikit estates. People want green space, they want trees… What looks right in London won’t look right in the Cotswolds, so it’s vital that new homes are designed to fit in.”

Local design guidance will dictate to developers what they can and cannot build in specific parts of the country.

The reforms are partly designed to help the Government meet its target of building 300,000 new homes a year to end the housing shortage, and will cut the time it takes councils to draw up a local plan for housing needs from seven years to 30 months.

In addition, developers will have to pay a new Infrastructure Levy, which will be a fixed proportion of the value of the development, to help pay for local roads, schools, playgrounds and discounted homes for first-time buyers. It will replace the Community Infrastructure Levy and so-called section 106 agreements, which ministers say can lead to delays.

However, the National Housing Federation warned that scrapping section 106 agreements was a mistake, as they required private developers to build a certain amount of social housing.

It said almost 28,000 affordable homes were built last year – half the total – through the agreements. The Government said its First Homes scheme would make houses available to first-time buyers with a 30 per cent discount.