Rayner is living up to Labour housing promises
Speaking to the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Angela Rayner, Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) not only reinforced the need for all councils to have local plans, but made clear that if local policy was met, planning applications would be ‘fast tracked’ and not frustrated by politics.
Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said:
“We are often asked what is meant by ‘removing the politics from planning’ and it is as simple as getting a planning permission if you meet policy.
Planning committees deferring or battling policy compliant planning applications harm smaller builders the most, as they do not have the finances to hire expensive consultants and legal teams to turn a three-year battle into a year long one. This doesn’t serve planners well either, who despite being hired as experts to make these judgments, are constantly over-ruled.”
Rayner told Kuenssberg, “We’ve told councils, they’ve got to have those [local] plans. If developers follow the framework, the national framework which protects environments, looks at a number of different elements and also follows the local plan, they shouldn’t be stuck in the system for years.”
The BBC reported that Conservative shadow Treasury minister, Richard Fuller criticised Labour’s approach and claimed, “Labour seems to be saying that Angela is best and local people can be ignored."
Rico Wojtulewicz, Head of Policy and Market Insight at the NFB, said:
“We are pleased to see NFB’s ‘meet policy, get planning’ recommendation accepted by the Government. Smaller builders delivering up to 100 homes a year, particularly on sites of fewer than fifty, will be the biggest beneficiaries as the change would remove some risks, reduce delays and dampen the discretionary process which plagues the planning process.
Far from ignoring local people, local plans create a long-term placemaking framework with local needs at its heart. It fails if it isn’t backed up by a rules-based system. There may be occasions where more scrutiny is required on a large scheme, but this should be a rare occurrence and local politicians who create local frameworks should not then waste council resources and their planner’s time to scrutinise every development.
In planning and housing, the Conservative government left Labour a poisoned chalice and although reforms have not come quickly enough to save some companies from leaving the industry, there are clear indications that Labour will create an environment which is consistent and Angela Rayner is proving that she intends to live up to her government’s promises.”
