Housing targets increased to get Britain building again

On 30 July 2024 the government announced a new campaign to overhaul the planning system that will see new mandatory targets for councils put in place to help fix the foundations and grow the economy.? The new mandatory targets will enable the building of 1.5M new homes, to deliver the affordable homes we need, and to provide the employment space and infrastructure essential to boost our economy.

The aim of the new targets is to pave the way for councils to boost house building in areas in need by removing the largest barriers to economic growth.

The new approach reflects the level of ambition necessary to tackle the housing crisis and should reverse the decision made last year to water down housing targets.? Currently just a third of councils have a plan in place that is under five years old and is the reason why the government will take tough decisions to step in where needed to drive progress and ensure that local areas get a say on how homes are built.

The Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, has written to every council Leader and Chief Executive in England to make clear that there is “not just a professional responsibility but a moral obligation to see more homes built” and stating “our decisive reforms to the planning system correct the errors of the past and set us on our way to tackling the housing crisis, delivering 1.5 million homes for those who really need them”.

The plan to develop 1.5 million homes over the next five years will begin with a review of green belt land if this is needed for councils to meet their own targets.? To do this, councils need to identify and prioritise ‘grey belt’ land, which the government has defined this to include land on the edge of existing settlements or roads, as well as old petrol stations and car parks.

The idea for this is to allow home builders to bring forward proposals on grey belt land where local authorities do not have up to date plans in place or enable sufficient housing to come forward to meet local targets.? However, the government assures that in all cases, land that is safeguarded for environmental reasons, will continue to be protected.

Any land released in the Green Belt will be subject to the government’s ‘golden rules’.? These golden rules will make it clear that development should deliver 50% affordable homes, increase access to green spaces and put the necessary infrastructure in place such as schools and GP surgeries.? The government will also make is easier to build key infrastructure such as laboratories, gigafactories and data centres, as well as making changes to deliver more large onshore wind projects and solar development across the country.

In addition to these reforms to the planning system, the government is also taking steps to deliver quality affordable and social housing, working to reverse the continued decline in the number of social rented homes.? This will include changes to the Right to Buy by looking into the eligibility criteria and protections for new homes, giving councils flexibility to use their receipts to build and buy more social homes.? The government has started its review of the increased discounts introduced in 2012, which the changes to be implement in the Autumn and the Home Builders Federation has issued a statement on behalf of the industry backing the government’s plan.

The changes will include further reforms in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill that will see an introduction to a national scheme of delegation that focuses planning committees on the applications that matter and to help prevent potential delays where previously developments were being reviewed multiples times.? The idea is to place more trust in skilled professional planners.

The new plans are likely to be controversial and Angela Rayner has said the plans are radical but are urgent.? Neil Jefferson, CEO of Home Builders Federation stated this is 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 the 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.

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