Council committees to be bypassed to build more homes

Council committees to be bypassed to build more homes

Getty Images Aerial view of new homes being built on previously agricultural land in Englandgetty images

The Government will be given the power to bypass council planning committees in England under plans to make it easier to build new homes.

Officials will be allowed to speed up the process by rubber-stamping proposals that comply with existing council strategies without seeking permission from a committee.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said the planning process was acting like a “drag anchor” aimed at providing more housing and vowed to bring about “sweeping changes” to the local committee system.

House builders largely welcomed the streamlining, but councils said giving them more resources would be a better approach.

A Conservative spokesman said the government’s plans were “nothing more than a list of empty promises that will do nothing to ensure Britain has the housing where it needs it”.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer reiterated his pledge to build 1.5 million new homes by 2029, despite admitting that this may be “a little too ambitious”.

The fast-track planning process will apply to housing proposals and associated infrastructure such as schools if they have already been agreed as part of local development plans, where councils set out a strategy for land use in their areas .

If the proposals “comply” with these plans, the government said, they could “completely bypass planning committees, leading to chronic uncertainty, unacceptable delays and unnecessary waste of time and resources”.

Rainer said building more homes and infrastructure meant “unlocking the stagnant planning system that serves to put a cap on development”.

“Building 1.5 million homes over five years means we have to tackle the housing crisis we inherited with bold action,” he said.

According to government scheme dataBetween January and March 2024 only 19% of major applications were determined within the statutory 13-week period and only 38% of minor applications were determined within the statutory eight-week period.

The push for more homes may be popular with voters who are struggling to get on the housing ladder.

But even small residential projects are often opposed by residents living nearby for a variety of reasons, including concerns about the impact on local schools, doctors, roads and parking.

Taking away the option of local people to stop development by making a case in the planning committee can lead to political backlash, especially in rural areas.

Labor has already angered farmers by bringing agricultural land within the scope of inheritance tax, and needs to boost support outside the cities if it is to retain political power.

The Local Government Association (LGA) said that, while planning delays were not being attributed to house building delays, the million proposed homes had actually been agreed in principle by councils in their local strategies, but The developers did not move forward with the plans.

Councilor Adam Hugh, housing spokesman for the association representing councils, said local authorities and communities “need to be full partners in tackling the housing crisis together”.

He said this could be achieved with “new development supported by the infrastructure needed to drive communities forward and appropriate consultation and engagement that can help ensure local people can benefit”.

EPA Angela Rayner, British Deputy Prime Minister, speaks before British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's 'Plan for Change' speech at Pinewood Studios in Ivor HeathEPA

Angela Rayner says she wants to open up the ‘stalled planning system’

The Home Builders Federation (HBF) said that while “democratic participation and monitoring of the scheme” was a “fundamental element of the process”, it “can be very frustrating for applicants to repeatedly debate the principle of development”.

The Housing Ministry is also expected to start streamlining the strategic planning process and require better training for members of planning committees. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will be introduced next month.

Many in local government and the housing industry believe it will be impossible to meet the mandatory target of 1.5 million new homes by 2029.

A Conservative spokesperson said the government had “set a ‘target’ for housebuilding which the OBR has already said they cannot achieve due to their budget.”

HBF agreed with the LGA that councils need more planning resources and also called for more financial support for young home buyers.

Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said the industry needs a “significant increase in funding for social rented homes and equal access to the Building Security Fund for social landlords” in the upcoming spending review. “Measures to help the social housing sector rebuild its capacity after decades of cuts”.

Next week the Government will announce further reforms by updating England’s planning rulebook, the national planning policy framework.

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