Labour sets about reversing Tory planning failures
Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Angela Rayner has announced Labour’s first steps to reform planning. In order to ‘get Britain building’ there will be a new methodology to calculate housing need, a reintroduction of mandatory targets, grey belt definition and a set ‘golden rules’. A consultation which closes on 24 September 2024 will set out their proposals.
Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said:
“The Government is reintroducing the policies which ensured the Conservatives broke the 200,000 new homes a year mark, plus adding some extra dimensions, such as the grey belt, strategic planning and redefining how some of the grey belt is used.
It's certainly a positive start but if the Government is serious about building 300,000 homes a year, or 370,000 as we heard today, these tweaks will not cut it and we need major reform which explores what the barriers are, not just to local plans and permissions, but the rules stopping spades going in the ground”
Rayner said brownfield and grey belt with be the first port of call for councils who miss their higher targets. That infrastructure will be delivered to ensure developments deliver great places. When ‘golden rules’ are implemented, half of the homes will be affordable and that all local authorities will have up to date local plans.
Rico Wojtulewicz, Head of Policy and Market Insight at the NFB, said:
“We need to study the full consultation but so far so good. Particularly the mention of strategic planning, bringing back targets and upping the targets. It was also interesting to see the supply target for London reduce by 20,000 to 80,000. This shouldn’t really worry anybody because the capital would still need to double output to reach that figure.
I would however urge the Government to focus on commercial impacts of the planning process and why diversification is so important to growth.
SMEs, who typically deliver up to 250 homes a year, weren’t mentioned, despite them training 8 in 10 construction apprentices and being the ones who build the social housing for councils and housing associations. Biodiversity Net Gain also didn’t feature, even though it is likely to scupper affordable housing ambitions and new towns, just like it is scuppering the business models of SMEs. These two examples need to be top of any government’s agenda and we will be working day and night to remind them of that.”
