Housing and development policies . AIBU to be thoroughly shocked ?

In England, everybody has the right to apply for a school in any authority.

They may have that right but it doesn't mean the schools have to take them. My daughter had a school directly opposite her within touching distance...no places at that school when all the families moved into that area in the new builds and the schools that they were offered were miles away. No car? Disabled? Tough. No room at the inn. However, when she suggested that the school her daughter had come from could be an option if her daughter stayed with me, it was a definite no even though some of the schools she was offered were impossible for her to get her child to.

Sorry, Growstuff but there may be places in schools but in our area, whilst the schools aren't fantastic, they aren't "sink" schools and any would do but there are few places. I know of parents with siblings in schools but places aren't available there either. There has been a massive building programme each side of the County lines and the infrastructure just hasn't kept up.
As to the Doctor's Surgeries not being able to recruit, the way we limit the training of new GP's is abysmal. There is just no joined up thinking.
It isn't just the immediately obvious stuff though. New builds have back flow from the sewage system when it rains because the sewers can't cope with the amount of waste.
I am not anti new builds per se but it has to be done properly.

As a consequence of being involved in resisting an awful development on a green field site I have lost all confidence in the Planning Inspectorate's independence of Tory Ministers.

Interesting, thanks growstuff

Callistemon I'd forgotten you're in Wales. Sorry!

In England, everybody has the right to apply for a school in any authority. Academy chains are their own admissions authorities. Distance is usually one admissions criterion, but there may be others, such as siblings, musical ability or religious affiliation, which might trump the distance. Authorities aren't obliged to pay bus fares to a school outside the authority, if there's a closer school, which puts some parents off.

It's estimated that about 12% of available places in England are not filled, while some schools are over capacity - that's a planning decision at local level. Primary demand is about to dip and secondary demand will follow in about 3/4 years. No authority will build permanent places, when they're only needed for a few years.

Education authorities usually publish forward planning predictions with the predicted number of places needed for up to 10 years. Usually, there are enough places in total, but most authorities have "sink" schools which parents don't want. Authorities won't commit to new building unless the surplus numbers are in multiples of 30 (a class) and government regulations state that new schools can't be built unless there's an established need, which is why schools won't be built until houses are occupied and every surplus place is filled. Groups of parents can get round that using the "free schools" initiative, if (for example) they can show that there's a need for a religious school or one for pupils with special needs, but it's a long process.

There are going to be a lot of Ukrainian refugees needing permanent homes soon. I wonder if the government have any plans for them when they move on from their hosts? I suspect not

growstuff

Callistemon21

growstuff

icanhandthemback I don't know where you live, but I did some work on school places a few years ago. I showed that there are enough school places, but not necessarily the ones that parents want for their own children. The situation is particularly acute in London because schools are within commuting distance. Pupils can cross borough boundaries with ease and savvy parents play the "game". Initiatives to encourage schools to compete with each other have exacerbated the problem, but the underlying issue isn't an absolute shortage of places.

Things must have changed over the years since we lived in London, boundaries and catchment areas were much stricter when our DC were pupils there.
However, I do remember that there was a choice of about 12 secondary schools in our borough plus a church school just outside the boundary. Choosing a secondary school was quite cut-throat, coming from the Shires it was eye-opening!
Then we moved and there was Hobson's choice.

Yes, they have changed. Boundaries are more or less meaningless these days.

Unless you live where we do ?

Callistemon21

growstuff

icanhandthemback I don't know where you live, but I did some work on school places a few years ago. I showed that there are enough school places, but not necessarily the ones that parents want for their own children. The situation is particularly acute in London because schools are within commuting distance. Pupils can cross borough boundaries with ease and savvy parents play the "game". Initiatives to encourage schools to compete with each other have exacerbated the problem, but the underlying issue isn't an absolute shortage of places.

Things must have changed over the years since we lived in London, boundaries and catchment areas were much stricter when our DC were pupils there.
However, I do remember that there was a choice of about 12 secondary schools in our borough plus a church school just outside the boundary. Choosing a secondary school was quite cut-throat, coming from the Shires it was eye-opening!
Then we moved and there was Hobson's choice.

Yes, they have changed. Boundaries are more or less meaningless these days.

Katie59

When a new development is proposed and gets “outline”planning consent the LA say what infrastructure improvements are needed and work cannot start until these are met. At that stage the improvements have not been costed, that is what hold up building, developers are not going to start a project that will make a loss.

I have one very close for 3000 houses, road improvements alone have spiraled to £120m, way more than the site can afford.

That's why I wrote upthread that planning systems need a complete overhaul. Housing is too important to be left to the market. The state needs to intervene and make sure that all stakeholders are involved in improving infrastructure by offering subsidies, if necessary, and ensuring procedures are followed.

How many people know that councils are given grants for new housing to incentivise new building? Do they ever ask their councils to account for the money, which could finance some of the facilities people complain about?

growstuff

icanhandthemback I don't know where you live, but I did some work on school places a few years ago. I showed that there are enough school places, but not necessarily the ones that parents want for their own children. The situation is particularly acute in London because schools are within commuting distance. Pupils can cross borough boundaries with ease and savvy parents play the "game". Initiatives to encourage schools to compete with each other have exacerbated the problem, but the underlying issue isn't an absolute shortage of places.

Things must have changed over the years since we lived in London, boundaries and catchment areas were much stricter when our DC were pupils there.
However, I do remember that there was a choice of about 12 secondary schools in our borough plus a church school just outside the boundary. Choosing a secondary school was quite cut-throat, coming from the Shires it was eye-opening!
Then we moved and there was Hobson's choice.

Nobody wants people being homeless but we need to sort out all the issues that go with building so many new houses.

What do you suggest?

Incidentally, my town has a brand new GP surgery with plenty of space, but still can't recruit GPs.

icanhandthemback I don't know where you live, but I did some work on school places a few years ago. I showed that there are enough school places, but not necessarily the ones that parents want for their own children. The situation is particularly acute in London because schools are within commuting distance. Pupils can cross borough boundaries with ease and savvy parents play the "game". Initiatives to encourage schools to compete with each other have exacerbated the problem, but the underlying issue isn't an absolute shortage of places.

Lucca

And what about the proposal to allow no fault evictions ? Benefitting the landlords of course.

They're stopping no faults.its been in place for donkeys years and dreadful, a licence to sling folks out on the street , quicker it's stopped the better.

When a new development is proposed and gets “outline”planning consent the LA say what infrastructure improvements are needed and work cannot start until these are met. At that stage the improvements have not been costed, that is what hold up building, developers are not going to start a project that will make a loss.

I have one very close for 3000 houses, road improvements alone have spiraled to £120m, way more than the site can afford.

Everything crossed this will be abandoned, as yet another set of
Would be PMs and Chancellors are forced on us.

Before new large developments are started the relevant resources eg schools, health facilities, community hubs should be identified and built at the same time as the first phase of building houses commences. Just read only last week of a building project of 800 houses about a 3rd akready done yet there is no definite decision on access roads. Site is adjacent to an A road and Council, local residents and builders still arguing about plans. Schooling, medical needs to be absorbed into existing facilities. The mind boggles at how this can be allowed yet if you tried building a habitable shed in your garden you'd be in Court fir ignoring planning laws.

Millions of empty houses in this country and speculators have bought up land just to wait until they can quadruple their investment. Sickening.

growstuff, in answer to your post on Thu 13-Oct-22 13:18:48, no I meant all schools in our area are over subscribed, even the ones that used to be the schools which were less popular. One of our primary schools has had 2 major building programmes to cope with the extra influx but has no more room on which to build. Neither do the other schools in the are have room to build further classrooms. One of the popular Secondary schools in the next County were so over subscribed so they stopped taking from our area. Now our schools are oversubscribed and having difficulty recruiting sufficient teachers to cope with the number of children and lessons.

Similarly our GP Surgery has now become the most unpopular surgery in the area because they can't cope with the increased number of people and can't recruit. They have also extended several times but have nowhere further to extend. The promises made in the planning applications soon get changed once the building starts. The Council seem toothless to chase the developers on the things they should be doing.
Nobody wants people being homeless but we need to sort out all the issues that go with building so many new houses.

Whitenancy

I, too, see good arable land going to vast housing estates. What is it with this country, that everyone seems to want a garden? And many these days don't even have the time to keep it tidy.

I understand that home ownership is not usual in continental countries, and that they build flats with proper soundproofing, and put children's playgrounds within sight of the apartment windows so parents can keep an eye on them. More suitable family apartments and a piece of green space would be much better than all the houses.

I'm assuming you're not a parent, Whitenancy.

Saggi

The state needs to take control of people having more than one house , UNLESS they’re renting that house out to other people …thereby providing a home to someone else.They need to stop people owning g property that is just sitting empty ..year on year …just to make profit!! Compulsory purchase any property that is not being lived in’ or used for something useful , after its lain empty fir two years. Stop pulling down perfectly good ‘brown site’ housing to build new builds for only the rich… start re-developing ‘brown site’ stop all this awful waste of bricks and mortar .

Saggi Compulsory purchase any property that is not being lived in’ or used for something useful, after its lain empty fir two years.

We don't live in a communist state.

Who should decide what was useful?

Garages and sheds are useful. Turning an old home into storage may be useful to some. Renovating an old home for rental may be useful to some.

I, too, see good arable land going to vast housing estates. What is it with this country, that everyone seems to want a garden? And many these days don't even have the time to keep it tidy.

I understand that home ownership is not usual in continental countries, and that they build flats with proper soundproofing, and put children's playgrounds within sight of the apartment windows so parents can keep an eye on them. More suitable family apartments and a piece of green space would be much better than all the houses.

The lack of social housing is appalling. So many people are at the mercy of unscrupulous landlords. I know not all landlords are bad, but the security of tenure you get with ‘council’ housing is so precious.

You would think that, as MP for Middlesbrough, Simon Clarke would recognise the need for affordable housing. I don’t think he’s fighting in the best interests of one of the poorest areas in the country.

Same around here, and asking for more to be built... not just a few but hundred's, mixing private with affordable housing, only they couldn't sell the private homes on these sprawling estates so the Council bought them back and are charging high rents for them which no-one can afford..it's all mad !! Why build large 4 bedroomed private housing next door to Social ones ??

The state needs to take control of people having more than one house , UNLESS they’re renting that house out to other people …thereby providing a home to someone else.They need to stop people owning g property that is just sitting empty ..year on year …just to make profit!! Compulsory purchase any property that is not being lived in’ or used for something useful , after its lain empty fir two years. Stop pulling down perfectly good ‘brown site’ housing to build new builds for only the rich… start re-developing ‘brown site’ stop all this awful waste of bricks and mortar .

Ah! You mean the popular schools are oversubscribed? What's the point of having more GPs, when the real problem is staffing the surgeries we have? So where do you think people should live? On the streets? On sofas? Too many NIMBYs are more concerned about their own house prices and countryside they haven't paid for than genuine environmental issues or other people not so fortunate as they are.