Parliament has been urged to back the Labour Government’s Plan for Change with the landmark Planning and Infrastructure Bill being read in Parliament yesterday (24th March). Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said there was ‘no time to waste’ if the party is to deliver on its manifesto promise of 1.5m new homes in this Parliament.
The Bill will introduce primary legislation designed to
- overhaul the planning system and remove red tape by reducing the number of planning decisions in the hands of committees
- introduce more economic and environmentally friendly development through a Nature Restoration Fund
- strengthening the compulsory purchase process
- reduce the number of legal challenges to ‘meritless’ planning cases
- Introducing subsidies for people who live near electricity transmission infrastructure
Rayner said:
“We have no time to waste in bringing the housing crisis we’ve inherited to an end, not only for those struggling to get onto the housing ladder but for the families and young children who are stuck in temporary accommodation. That’s why it is so crucial that we get Britain building and the return of the landmark Planning and Infrastructure Bill to Parliament today represents another step forward in achieving this goal.
“But to ensure we can prove the naysayers wrong, and deliver on our Plan for Change target to build the 1.5 million homes and crucial infrastructure this country needs, we need to make our planning reforms law as quickly as possible. This is why today I am urging Parliament to back this Bill and ensure we can deliver the change so many people want to see.”
Housing and Planning Minister, Matthew Pennycook added:
“Our landmark Planning and Infrastructure Bill will fundamentally change how we build things in this country. By streamlining the delivery of new homes and critical infrastructure, it will help tackle the housing crisis and raise living standards in every part of the country. The Bill marks another decisive step toward a planning system that is pro-growth and pro-infrastructure and will deliver on our Plan for Change commitments to build 1.5 million homes and fast-track planning decisions on at least 150 major economic infrastructure projects in this Parliament.”
Key measures in the Bill include:
The government has already announced its commitment to deliver a new 10-year Infrastructure Strategy, which will help unlock private investment over the next decade for new housing, schools, hospitals, and public transport. This will be set out in due course. Alongside wider planning reforms, including the updated National Planning Policy Framework and a forthcoming review on statutory consultees, the government is backing builders and councils to deliver more homes and infrastructure.
