The Labour Party made it a centrepiece of their election manifesto that it would see to it that 1.5 million new homes were built in England alone before the next general election by relaxing planning restrictions.
Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, secretary of state at the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, has today set out new rules that reverse the decision last year to water down housing targets, reinstating mandatory targets for all councils in England.
She has written to every council leader and chief executive in England to tell them that there is “not just a professional responsibility but a moral obligation to see more homes built”, and that she will use her powers of intervention should it be necessary – including taking over an authority’s plan making directly.
Brownfield land will be prioritised and council have been told to presume in favour of granting permission on all such sites. But councils are also being told to review their green belt land, if needed to meet their own target, identifying and prioritising ‘grey belt’ land, for which the government has today set out a definition. This includes land on the edge of existing settlements or roads, as well as old petrol stations and car parks.
There were 158,200 new housing units completed in England in 2023, and 189,270 across the entire United Kingdom. To reach 1.5 million in England by 2029 implies a near doubling of current output to 300,000 units a year. In fact, Rayner said the new target is now 370,000 units a year.
The Conservative government also had ambitious targets but dropped requirements on local authorities to force unwanted developments on local homeowners after it kept losing by-elections on the issue. Labour will have to face down the same pressures.
The government has also confirmed its intention to introduce a universal system of strategic planning across England in this parliament, underpinned by legislation, that will deliver on the manifesto commitment to plan for growth on a larger than local scale.
A consultation paper Proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system seeks views on the government’s proposed approach to revising the National Planning Policy Framework and on policy proposals in relation to increasing planning fees, local plan intervention criteria and widening the scope of what qualifies as a nationally significant infrastructure project to include onshore wind farms. This consultation closes on 24th September 2024.
Thirty-three of Britain’s biggest house-building companies have produced a statement via the Home Builders Federation to express support for the aims of the government’s reforms, if not always the fine details.
However, representatives of small and medium sized house-building companies were unfettered by the state propaganda machinery and so perhaps spoke more frankly in their first reactions.
For example, Richard Beresford, the chief executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said: “The government is reintroducing the policies that 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.”
Rico Wojtulewicz, head of policy and market insight at the NFB, added: “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.”
The Home Builders Federation, which represents the volume builders, was far more favourable. Its chief executive, Neil Jefferson, was quoted in the ministry’s own publicity statement saying: “Today represents the first and most important step ministers have taken in addressing the barriers to delivering new homes. The scale of the government’s housing ambition has given hope to the house building industry that stands ready to increase supply and tackle the country’s housing shortage. The planning system has long failed to provide the amount of land needed to address affordability pressures, but in recent years the elimination of housing targets has led to housing supply plummeting. A reformed, more progressive planning system that requires local authorities to meet their communities’ housing needs is a major step forward to address the barriers to delivery.
"The housing market is complex and bringing more land through the planning system will help to turn around ailing housing supply provided affordable mortgage finance can be accessed and buyers are able to purchase new homes.”
The ministry also helpfully supplied quotes from a raft of industry leaders gushing about what Rayner was doing.
Land Securities chief executive Mark Allan, for example, said: “This is an extensive set of measures which tackle many of the issues we face within the planning system. I am particularly pleased to see the increased focus on brownfield land and the recognition of the role mixed use and commercial development plays in driving economic growth and housing delivery. It is now up to our industry and our partners in local government to rise to this challenge and maximise the opportunities presented by development.”
Another cheerleader is British Property Federation chief executive Melanie Leech, who said: “This is an ambitious package of measures, which will not only start to turn the tide on our housing crisis, but also inject some much-needed growth into our economy.”
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