At the Spring Statement today, Chancellor Rachel Reeves reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to an “ambitious set of planning reforms” with the goal being to “get Britain building again.”
She reminded the House of Commons of the National Planning Policy Framework, which reintroduced mandatory housing targets and brought greybelt land into scope.
She claimed that these reforms, as well as an increase to capital spending, should permanently increase the level of real GDP by 0.6% in the next 10 years.
Reeves promised that house building would reach a 40-year high, with 1.3 million homes built over the next five years due to planning system changes alone, “taking us within touching distance” of the manifesto promise to reach 1.5 million during this Parliament.
Reeves said: “The impact on our economy goes further still.
“I said at the election that we could not simply tax and spend our way to prosperity. We need economic growth.
“So I can today confirm that the effects of our growth policies, including our planning reforms, means an additional £3.4bn to support our public finances and our public services by 2029-30.”
Reeves also reminded the Commons of the Government’s £2bn investment in social and affordable homes, as well as £600m to train 600,000 construction workers, in order to deliver up to 18,000 new homes and allow “local areas to bid for new development across our country,” providing “more security for families.”
