The housing secretary has announced plans to take planning decisions on digital infrastructure, laboratories, water infrastructure, onshore wind and housing away from local authorities.
Angela Rayner told MPs yesterday afternoon (30 July) that she would consult on a raft of policies aimed at boosting building, including releasing greenbelt land and intervening in planning at a local level. She promised to implement the resulting reforms through a revised National Planning Policy Framework by the end of the year.
Although her speech focused on measures to implement Labour’s pledge to build 1.5 million homes, Rayner also launched a consultation on whether key infrastructure, including water, onshore wind, labs, gigafactories and data centres should be treated as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, allowing them to bypass local planning requirements.
Jan Bessell, chair of the National Infrastructure Planning Association, welcomed the consultation, saying the organisation “looks forward to further infrastructure planning reform and innovation led by government, to facilitate the delivery of much needed national infrastructure and economic growth”.
Rayner will encourage local planners to default to approving applications for developing on brownfield land and take a more positive approach to mixed-use schemes.
The deputy prime minister announced that the government would instruct councils to review greenbelt boundaries where they could not meet their housing requirements on brownfield land, paving the way for homes – but also commercial and other forms of development – in areas in which they previously could not be built.
Housing schemes built on former greenbelt land would need to provide at least 50 per cent affordable housing, greater access to green spaces and social infrastructure such as GP surgeries and schools.
Rayner has already written to every council leader and chief executive in England, warning them she would intervene if they did not build enough housing, and would directly take over planning functions in the most dire cases.
She also pledged to release details of government investment in social and affordable housing at the next spending review to deliver “the biggest increase in affordable housebuilding in a generation”.
Other mooted reforms include restoring mandatory local housing targets and reviewing the Right to Buy scheme that allows tenants to purchase their council-owned property at a discount. The latter might include giving councils the ability to combine Right to Buy receipts with section 106 developer contributions on schemes, and requiring social landlords to remediate damp and mould issues.
The Home Builders Federation (HBF) produced a statement in response to Rayner’s speech, signed by 33 major homebuilders, promising that “where sites are viable, we will get on and build”.
It said: “In recent years, the supply of new homes has been suppressed by a failing planning system. SMEs have departed the industry, housing associations have struggled in an uncertain market, housing affordability has been stretched and affordable mortgage finance has been constrained, all of which has reduced effective demand in the market.
“As an industry, we are determined to play our part through increased investment to make housing more affordable and accessible.”
Yesterday, Rayner met with representatives from the homebuilding industry.
HBF chief executive Neil Jefferson said the government’s housing ambition had “given hope to the housing industry that stands ready to increase supply and tackle the country’s housing shortage”.
Meanwhile, Justin Young, chief executive of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, praised the introduction of localised housing targets and the greenbelt review.
He said: “Planning reforms are a pullable policy lever for boosting economic productivity, and legislation that increases housing delivery across tenures, including affordable housing, will move the dial for those in need.
“We also look forward to working with government to secure the skills needed to make ambitions a reality.”
Kelly Boorman, national head of construction at consultancy RSM UK, said the government’s focus on building more homes on greybelt land – parts of the greenbelt where there is existing limited development such as former car parks – was “encouraging”, but said there were still outstanding concerns.
She said: “There needs to be a prioritisation of labour [availability and skills] and increasing access to finance for the developers to achieve mandatory housing targets.
“While it seems local authorities will play a key role in decision-making, it is not yet apparent where financial responsibilities will lie for housebuilders and government.”
The consultation closes on 24 September.
