The Labour government have confirmed its Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which contains much of the primary legislation required to enact their plans to build 1.5 million homes in this parliamentary term, will be introduced into Parliament in the Spring, describing the reforms as ‘turning the page on the decline and delay of the past’
Over the weekend the government published a working paper outlining the ambitions of the Bill, which will focus on ‘streamlining decisions on nationally significant infrastructure projects, including reducing the burden on developers by making consultation requirements more proportionate, strengthening statutory guidance to ensure they are clear over what is and is not required when submitting planning applications, and ensuring that National Policy Statements are updated at least every five years to give more certainty to developers, speeding up decisions.’
Reform to the statutory consultee system has also been introduced, with a moratorium declared on any new statutory consultees. Last week the government announced plans to reduce the number of times unarguable planning cases can be brought to the court from three to one.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has also said in order to hit 1.5m new homes in this Parliamentary term, plans would focus house building on areas near commuter hubs where the default answer to development will be ‘yes’ in an effort to ‘unlock more housing at a greater density in areas central to local communities, boosting the government’s number one mission to grow the economy.’
The announcement comes ahead of key speeches in the coming week on economic growth and against a backdrop of criticism of the government’s handling of the economy in its first six months in power. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves said:
“I am fighting every single day in our mission to kick start the economy, deliver on our Plan for Change, and make working people better off. That includes avenues that others have shied away from. Too often the answer to new development has been “no”. But that is the attitude that has stunted economic growth and left working people worse off. We need to do things differently and that journey began as soon as I started at the Treasury in July. These are our next steps and I can say for certain, there is more to come.”
Reeves added homebuilding fell to their lowest levels in a decade, falling below 200,000, and said radical action was necessary to reverse the trend.
Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Angela Rayner said:
“From day one I have been clear that bold action is needed to remove the blockers who put a chokehold on growth. That’s why we are putting growth at the heart of our planning system. Growth means higher wages, better living standards, families raising their children in safer homes, and the next generation taking their first steps onto the housing ladder.”
“This year we will go even further to make the dream of homeownership a reality for millions and fix the housing crisis we inherited for good – getting more shovels in the ground to build the homes and vital infrastructure that our communities so desperately need.”
House building and infrastructure is a key tenet of the Labour message with the government pointing to decisions it has made since coming to power as evidence of its commitment including
- Overhauled the National Planning Policy Framework; introducing higher mandatory housebuilding targets for councils.
- Launched a New Homes Accelerator group
- introduced ‘brownfield passports’, where planning proposals meet design and quality standards, the default answer to planning permission is ‘yes’,
- Awarded £68 million to 54 local councils to unlock housing on brownfield sites.
- Extended the existing Home Building Fund for this year; providing £700m for 12,000 new homes
- Confirmed that government investment in housing will increase to £5 billion for this year, including an extra £500, for the Affordable Homes Programme
Commenting on the plan Simon Brown, CEO of Landmark Information Group said
“The continued work by the Government to streamline planning decisions is pivotal for unlocking the economic potential of the UK.
The presentation of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill in the Spring will be a welcome step by the Government to reach its ambitious targets and build toward economic growth. However, systemic barriers—such as fragmented processes, overburdened professionals, and limited information-sharing—still impede progress. By leveraging data more effectively, we can identify demand hotspots, streamline development, and ensure homes are built in the right locations, supported by the necessary infrastructure to foster thriving communities.”