The Government will overhaul the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), with landmark changes designed to support families locked out of owning their own home.
Under the plans, councils will be told they must play their part to meet housing need by reaching a new combined target of 370,000 homes a year.
The changes tackle the inheritance faced by the Government, in which 1.3 million households are on social housing waiting lists and a record number of households – including 160,000 children – live in temporary accommodation.
Areas with the highest unaffordability for housing and greatest potential for growth will see housebuilding targets increase, while stronger action will ensure councils adopt up-to-date local plans or develop new plans that work for their communities.
While remaining committed to a brownfield-first approach, the updated NPPF will require councils to review their greenbelt boundaries to meet targets, identifying and prioritising lower quality ‘grey belt’ land.
Any development on greenbelt must meet strict requirements, via new ‘golden rules’, which require developers to provide the necessary infrastructure for local communities, such as nurseries, GP surgeries and transport, as well as a premium level of social and affordable housing.
To further tackle the housing crisis, councils and developers will also need to give greater consideration to social rent when building new homes, and local leaders will have greater powers to build genuinely affordable homes for those who need them most.
The Government was clear that it supports ‘builders not blockers’ as it makes the necessary decisions to deliver for working people across the country.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “For far too long, working people graft hard but are denied the security of owning their own home.
“But with a generation of young people whose dream of homeownership feels like a distant reality, and record levels of homelessness, there’s no shying away from the housing crisis we have inherited.
“We owe it to those working families to take urgent action, and that is what this government is doing.
“Our Plan for Change will put builders not blockers first, overhaul the broken planning system and put roofs over the heads of working families and drive the growth that will put more money in people’s pockets.
“We’re taking immediate action to make the dream of homeownership a reality through delivering 1.5 million homes by the next parliament and rebuilding Britain to deliver for working people.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing Angela Rayner added: “From day one I have been open and honest about the scale of the housing crisis we have inherited.
“This mission-led government will not shy away from taking the bold and decisive action needed to fix it for good.
“We cannot shirk responsibility and leave over a million families on housing waiting lists and a generation locked out of home ownership.
“Today’s landmark overhaul will sweep away last year’s damaging changes and shake-up a broken planning system which caves into the blockers and obstructs the builders.
“I will not hesitate to do what it takes to build 1.5 million new homes over five years and deliver the biggest boost in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.”
Reaction:
Dinny Shaw, head of planning at Places for People:
“Today’s new National Planning Policy Framework is the seismic change we need in planning and demonstrates that this is a government listening to the sector.
“The right framework is essential, and the implementation of the grey belt definition is to be applauded, to help bring more sites into scope.
“But new definitions and a brownfield first approach alone won’t help us meet the government’s self-proclaimed ambitious targets.
“Now we need the right people with the right skills in local planning departments to turn these rules into more planning permissions so we can get these homes so urgently needed built.
“We must keep this conversation going.
“For PfP, it’s not just about building homes, it’s about creating new thriving communities where people are connected to their neighbours, and nature and proud of the place they call home.”
Simon Vernon-Harcourt, design and planning director at City & Country:
“Today’s announcement of NPPF reforms reflects the Government’s intention to treat the delivery of housing as a strategic planning matter.
“The time has come to renew the postwar definition of the green belt and modernise it for 21st century housing needs.
“Our country is suffering an acute and continued housing crisis, which demands a robust policy and decision-making environment if we are ever going to deliver on the 1.5 million homes over five years.
“Co-operation with local planning offices is obviously essential to achieving housing delivery, but often this subject matter is emotive, and subjective opinion is given too much weight in planning approvals.
“The introduction of mandatory planning targets for local authorities will help to reduce some of this subjectivity.
“In particular, disagreements around grey belt designation have the potential to waste too much time for developers and planning officers.
“A standardised guidance outlined in the NPPF will considerably speed up the process, ending needless debate around the extent of a green belt parcel’s boundary, for example.
“The key to achieving sustainable development is to ensure that it utilises existing social and service infrastructure.
“Realistically, this means that development must expand outwards from urban centres into green land.
“With the right quality of placemaking and architecture homes in the greenbelt can enhance it and create beautiful homes and communities in sustainable locations.”
Craig Carson, managing director at Barratt West London:
“Today’s National Planning Policy Framework announcement underlines the Government’s commitment to building 1.5 million new homes and tackling the housing crisis.
“It is vital that local authorities take responsibility for planning the homes their areas need. Mandatory targets introduced at pace, and increased in areas of highest unaffordability like London, will help provide the sites and certainty that developers need to deliver more homes over the long term.
“Unlocking additional land opportunities requires a new common-sense approach to defining potential areas of development, particularly in high-density urban areas.
“A clear definition of grey belt will ensure that low-quality land can be transformed into thriving new communities.
“Underpinning the National Planning Policy Framework must be a commitment to training, recruiting and empowering the planners we desperately need.
“Providing £100m to councils for support to update local plans on top of proposals to train 300 new planners is welcome but we need to encourage and support more people into the planning profession.
“The long-term solutions outlined in the National Planning Policy Framework will naturally take some time to translate into Local Plans and to delivery on the ground.
“However, these are all positive actions that will ultimately stimulate broader economic growth, create jobs and deliver new homes, benefitting London and the whole country.”
Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark:
“An infrastructure first approach is key to delivering the homes the country desperately needs.
“Whilst mandatory targets focus minds towards achieving a goal, a one size fits all approach to housing delivery will not be enough if the UK Government are to hit their ambitious housing targets.
“More must be done to work with local authorities to ensure there is the capacity, political will and buy-in from local communities to build in more areas across the country.”
