New Government Reforms: Unlocking Opportunities for Housing and Infrastructure Development

A change in Government often brings new attitudes and with it new opportunities. For those in construction the Kings Speech was a first glimpse of what those opportunities might look like. This was followed up by an open letter from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to housing industry stakeholders. In both, the Government goes to great lengths to explain how it plans to substantially increase the volume of houses built in the UK and it has become clear that a proposed planning reform is central to those opportunities materialising.

The wording within the King’s Speech made it clear where the new Government’s priorities lie:

My Ministers will get Britain building, including through planning reform, as they seek to accelerate the delivery of high quality infrastructure and housing [Planning and Infrastructure Bill]. They will also pursue sustainable growth by encouraging investment in industry, skills and new technologies.

In the background information to the King’s Speech, it states that only 9 per cent of Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) are determining more than 70 per cent of non-major applications within 8 weeks. Moreover, only 1 per cent of LPAs determine more than 60 per cent of major applications within the statutory 13-week period. It is not difficult to see why the Government see this as a blockage and one that, once removed, could yield big results in a short timeframe. Any measures that could potentially speed up the process would be welcome.

The proposed Planning and Infrastructure Bill centres around the following five keys areas:

·         Streamlining the delivery process for critical infrastructure

·         Further reforming compulsory purchase compensation rules

·         Improving local planning decision making

·         Increasing local planning authorities capacity

·         Using development to fund nature recovery where currently both are stalled

 Implementing the above, as they say, is far easier said than done.

The open letter from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government did expand on the basic concepts above. Starting with the words “building the homes we need” it sets the tone early. It comments on a number of areas but the following are of particular interest:

·         Planning reform – a new consultation has been launched to reform the National Planning Policy Framework. A revised framework is due this Autumn.

·         Housing targets – requiring more stringent justification from local authorities for smaller housing requirement numbers, and raising targets overall

·         Green Belt and Grey Land – it is interested to note that whilst it is still very much, brownfield first, the government are consulting on other areas including green belt boundaries and where the housing need is.

·         Social and affordable housing

·         Local Planning

·         Strategic planning

The consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework is still open until 11:45 on 24th September 2024. This means there is still time for those within the construction sector to have their  say if they have not already done so.

There are lots of proposed changes that could affect developers future plans, and whilst it is still very much a wait and see situation at the moment, if you have any queries in relation to a new or existing development then please reach out to our commercial property team who can assist you.