The King’s speech this Wednesday will include the housing bill. Building more houses will be at the heart of the new government’s agenda and the housing bill will set out how this will be achieved.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced plans to overhaul the planning system and reintroduce mandatory housing targets.
In response, Fergus Charlton, a partner in law firm Michlemores’ planning practice, commented:“The new government has made it clear that planning reform and house building is a key strategy. The focus on streamlining planning processes, setting clear targets, and unlocking new land for development seems a strong foundation for boosting housing supply and infrastructure development.
“However, the re-branding of green belt to grey belt will be contentious. There are powerful lobbies who consider the green belt to be sacrosanct. To be effective re-brandings must be so persuasive that the public forget the previous incarnation. Whether this happens will depend on the details of policy. If new developments in the grey built are still required to show ‘very special circumstances’ to proceed then little will be gained.
“Reintroducing mandatory housing targets for local councils is also very welcome. This top-down approach has historically been effective at incentivising local authorities to approve more building. Setting clear targets could help overcome local opposition and NIMBYism that often blocks development.
“Reforming the payment of hope value under the compulsory purchase rules will make it cheaper for local authorities to acquire land for regeneration and affordable housing by compensating landowners based on current market value rather than potential future value with planning permission.”
