You can’t avoid building new housing, minister tells councils
The Government says local authorities will be given no “less wiggle room” when it comes to meeting new mandatory housebuilding targets.
Ministers are to unveil a major overhaul of the planning system that will give local authorities a mandatory target to reach a total of 370,000 new homes a year in England.
Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook told the BBC that the breakfast council should “consider how development happens, not whether it happens at all”.
However, councils expressed concern about the goalsLabour-run officials are among those branding the plans “unrealistic” and “impossible to achieve”.
Conservative shadow housing secretary Kevin Hollinrake said Labor would “address the concerns of local communities”.
The government has made boosting home construction a major priority, promising to build 15 lakh new homes over the next five years.
Pennycook said overhauling the planning system was not the entire solution, but was “a big part of the answer” to the housing crisis.
He said the government is “prepared to use all the ministerial powers we have” if councils refuse to produce local plans to meet housebuilding targets, including scrapping the scheme.
Under the updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), already developed land – known as “brownfield” sites – will be prioritized for development.
Councils will also be ordered to review green belt boundaries by identifying low-quality “grey belt” land – which were created to prevent urban sprawl.
Green belt development must follow the new “golden rules”, which require developers to give priority to essential infrastructure such as nurseries and GP surgeries. Also guarantees access to affordable housing and green spaces.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said there was no “backing down” from the housing crisis. “For many people, the dream of home ownership seems like a distant reality,” he said.
“Our plan for change will put builders first, not blockholders, fix the broken planning system, put roofs over the heads of working families and drive growth that puts more money in people’s pockets,” he said in a statement. Will come.”
The reforms mean that housebuilding targets will increase in areas that are least affordable for housing.
However, Craig Bennett, chief executive of the Wildlife Trust, said the plan to boost house building risked damaging the environment.
He said on BBC Radio 4’s Today program that it would be “a huge, historic missed opportunity” to build new homes “in a way that destroys nature and, at the same time, restores and restores our natural infrastructure.” Rebuilds”.
The government has also promised £100 million of extra funding for councils and 300 extra planning officers to speed up decision-making processes.
It says local authorities will have 12 weeks to bring forward a timetable for new house building schemes or risk intervention from ministers.
The Local Government Association (LGA) said tackling local housing challenges would require a “collaborative approach” between councils and government.
LGA spokesman Adam Hug said councils and communities who know their local areas best are “best placed to make decisions on how to manage the competing demand for land.”
“Any national algorithms and formulas should be complemented with local knowledge and involvement of the councils and communities who know their areas best,” Mr Hug said.
Hollinrake, the shadow housing secretary, said: “If Labor really wants to build homes where they are needed, they should think again.”
