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Ministers will shift housing targets from Labour-friendly big cities to more conservative rural areas and prevent councils from blocking developments because they are “out of touch” with their surroundings.
The new Labour government’s package means that London’s target, long considered unrealistic by the housebuilding industry, will end up being lower than under the Conservatives.
The measures unveiled by the British government on Tuesday are part of a package of planning reforms pushed by the Labour Party to increase the supply of new homes to 300,000 a year, a figure not seen for half a century.
“These are the right reforms for the decade of renewal that the country so desperately needs and we will not be deterred by those who seek to stand in the way of our country’s future,” said Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary.
Changes to national planning guidance include the reintroduction of mandatory housing targets for local authorities in England, which were made advisory by the previous Conservative government.
Ministers will also review the formula by which these targets are set so that England’s 20 largest urban areas no longer have targets 35% higher than elsewhere.
The urban “revival” was devised by Conservative ministers to appease their mutinous backbenchers, who wanted more housing built in Labour’s urban areas rather than in their own leafier constituencies. The move was roundly criticised by the local authorities concerned.
Instead, all regions of England will be forced to increase housing supply by 0.8% a year, based on affordability criteria, in order to force more construction in expensive areas, such as London and the south-east.
London’s target was 100,000 a year but will now be cut to 80,000, which officials have called “ambitious but realistic”. In 2022-23, only 35,305 homes were completed in the capital, according to the most recent figures.
The government has announced it will introduce a “universal strategic planning system” across England.
Municipalities will be warned that ministers will take back their housing plans in their regions if they are not kept up to date. Currently, only a third of municipalities have a plan that is less than five years old.
The government will consult on removing some references to “beauty” from the NPPF, on the grounds that it was a subjective criterion for judging new developments that could be used by councils to arbitrarily block projects.
Local authorities would also be deprived of their ability to resist development projects on the grounds that they do not fit the proposals.
The government has insisted that brownfield sites will remain the “first port of call for development” with the potential for greater housing density in urban areas.
Councils will nevertheless be asked to identify ‘grey belt’ land within green belt areas, such as former car parks or scrubland, where limited building can take place provided it meets the ‘golden rules’.
The ‘grey belt’ rules would require such development to provide 50% affordable housing, increased access to green spaces and new infrastructure such as schools and GP surgeries.
Last year, 231,100 new homes were built in the UK. The authorities said that projections for total supply in the coming years had fallen to less than 200,000, well below their future target of 300,000.
Housing Secretary Kemi Badenoch questioned whether the eight-week consultation on the plans over the summer would be “meaningful” given the range of interested parties who would want to contribute.
“There will be legal challenges: are they ready?” she told the House of Commons. “How is she going to avoid creating years of uncertainty and making it harder for local authorities and developers to build new homes while all these changes are being worked out?”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to increase government funding for social housing in the autumn spending review. She will also use her first budget on 30 October to give councils and housing associations “rent stability”, the government has said. This will involve guaranteeing the amount of rent increases each year to give them certainty to borrow and invest in more homes.
Last week, the government introduced a Planning and Infrastructure Bill in the King’s Speech that will overhaul the way compulsory purchase orders work. The bill will also introduce a national system of delegation that will “focus planning committees on the applications that really matter” and avoid potential projects being considered multiple times.
The government intends to reduce the discounts given to social housing residents who want to buy their homes under the “right to buy” rules introduced by the Conservatives in the 1980s. The changes are expected to come into force this autumn. Councils will also be given greater flexibility to use the revenue from these homes to build and buy more social housing.
The government also intends to organise a wider consultation on how the right to purchase system will work.
At the same time, the fee paid for applications for alterations or extensions to a home will increase from £258 to £528, subject to consultation later this year.
The increase is likely to be a prelude to councils being able to set their own planning charges for larger projects, which could raise more money to fund struggling planning departments.
