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Originally Posted by park381
Graham in reply, all new property normally carries the NHBC stamp, and to do so must comply with the current building regulations.
On the housing density please check this link in particular the item
Housing density in the pathfinder site
http://www.elevate-eastlancs.co.uk/s...amework_3.html
This talks about gov. guidance. As with other authorities HBC work under the guidance of central gov.
On regional matters try this link, it shows that the ODPM is responsible
http://www.odpm.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1139476
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Thanks for the links. ELEVATE have updated their site at last. Thought it was turning into another Hyndburn Life! The ELEVATE piece was fascinating and a summary of a lot of thinking in Hyndburn, sadly not our current political leadership though.
This is wahat it says about density;
"Decisions the local authority make about the capacity of a potential site will, in turn, affect decisions about housing density. Government guidance tries to avoid the low densities that have been typical of housing development in recent years. Under government guidance, planning authorities are advised to aim for between 30 and 50 dwellings per hectare (dph) net. Anything lower than that is likely to make local services uneconomical and be a waste of the land, while densities of more than 50 dph can threaten the existing infrastructure and the environment.
Ensuring that densities do not drop below recommended levels will be one of the Pathfinder’s main priorities. By the same token, densities of between 30 and 50 dph will be significantly lower than the densities that currently exist in many Pathfinder areas. We need to consider how we can bring about this transformation. It will create an opportunity to improve existing amenities by providing space for other uses but we will also need to ensure that the existing uses and services are not undermined – such as school class sizes, for example."
I think the key phrase is "Under government guidance, planning authorities are
advised to aim for between 30 and 50 dwellings per hectare (dph) net." [NOTE Terraces are 80 dwellings per hectare]
Councils obviously have a lot of descretion in their Local Plan on suitable sites and what suitability of housing should be developled, ie flats, bungalows, semi's, terraced etc... I see the ELEVATE site has a lot of other
guidance rather than dictat. This is how I have understood it from advice I have been given.
As for Building Regs. Again there is a minimum standard which as you allueded to has seen in the past unsatisfactory new developments and which has precipitated higher standards of regulations. However these are minimum standards and above that, anything else is non-enforecable. The solution sought is to contract to one developer all the regen housing work on tied terms and conditions, obviously higher building specs is an important feature of that negotiation on who gets the contract and through a formal legal agreement it is hoped to build much higher quality build.