Fewer car park spaces and smaller gardens under new house building rules issued to local authorities
The new rules mean more bike storage options must be made available in developments. NEW HOUSING DESIGN guidelines issued to local authorities sets out that some housing developments should have fewer car parking spaces, smaller gardens, and increased bike storage facilities. Housing developments in city centres will see an increase in density under the new rules, which sets out that minimum distances between homes should also be reduced with the option for planning authorities to disregard them entirely if they were satisfied residents would not be unduly affected. Alongside changes to housing density, there are proposals to reduce the number of car parking spaces in urban areas where public transport facilities are accessible. The guide sets out that in city centre locations and urban neighbourhoods car-parking provision should be “minimised, substantially reduced or wholly eliminated”. It also sets out that it is now to be a specific planning policy requirement that a