Less than a month after winning the UK general election, the new Labour government has already embarked on delivering on its manifesto commitment to get Britain building.
Key to this ambition is a range of announcements linked to planning and local government capacity, including a consultation on revisions to national planning policy and the launch of a New Towns Taskforce, chaired by Sir Michael Lyons and with Dame Kate Baker appointed as deputy chair.
Recent Goverenment Announcements
- Proposed reforms to the NPPF and other changes to the planning system, 30 July 2024
- Building the homes we need, Statement made on 30 July 2024
- Our Plan to Build New Homes, 30 July 2024,
- Letter from the Housing Minister to stakeholders, 30 July 2024
- Housing Targets Increased, Government Press Release, updated 31 July 2024
- Policy Statement on New Towns, 31 July 2024
Planning barrister Zach Simon’s Planoraks blog provides an excellent summary of the proposed changes to national planning policy. The government’s suggested amendments to how local authorities calculate local housing needs will result in higher numbers in every region except London, where the number is reduced by almost 20%. Almost every local authority in England will see their local housing need figure increase, which reflects the high housing need and affordability pressures experienced across the country.
One critical challenge facing Council planning departments is translating these higher local housing need figures into up-to-date local plans and working with the development industry to deliver more housing and meet those targets.
The Government has made it clear in the consultation that if local authorities can’t meet the need for housing or commercial development on brownfield land, they should review Green Belt boundaries and release Green Belt (and newly defined ‘Grey Belt’) land for housing.
The launch of a New Towns Taskforce charged with identifying locations for new communities of at least 10,000 homes across England demonstrates the Government’s commitment to boosting housing supply.
Since the demise of Regional Spatial Strategies, a gap in strategic planning has made planning across boundaries for large-scale housing delivery, infrastructure projects, and transport challenging. The Government proposes to introduce legislation that will reintroduce strategic planning in the form of ‘Spatial Development Strategies’. Bringing back strategic planning is a welcome intervention that will facilitate collaboration across local authority boundaries and sectors.
Local, mayoral and combined authorities will all need to be equipped with skilled people with expertise in strategic thinking and partnership working to develop visionary policies and build political consensus. Public Practice is leading the recruitment of talented professionals from multiple disciplines and backgrounds to help local authorities and public sector organisations do this work effectively.
Rico Wotjulewicz of the National Federation of Builders has hailed the announcements as “restoring new housing supply, supporting SME builders and stopping hundreds of millions of pounds being wasted on bureaucracy.” He added, “Investors cannot invest in the UK and homes cannot be built if the system stops them and hinders forward planning.”
Quality and design should be integral to housing and growth planning for places to be inclusive, equitable, and sustainable.
References to the somewhat subjective term ‘beauty’ have been replaced with a commitment to well-designed places and the National Design Guide and National Model Design Code. The Government wants exemplary development to be the norm, not the exception. The consultation on national planning policy states that development in the Green Belt and the new communities delivered under the New Towns Taskforce must align with this commitment to high-quality design and provide affordable housing, infrastructure and green space improvements.
Shadow Housing Secretary Kemi Badenoch has responded to the planning reforms by saying they give the go-ahead to build “1.5 million ugly homes” in England. And Dr David Crosthwaite at BCIS, which provides cost data to the UK building industry, said it is "difficult to see how Labour will achieve its ambitious housebuilding targets" due to private property developers "who control the supply to maximise their returns"
The Government knows how important it will be to bolster capacity and capability in planning departments up and down the country
It will be easier for the Government to achieve its housing targets with a step-change in local government capability and capacity. Local authorities that are well-resourced with multidisciplinary skills and experience are essential for this commitment to design and quality to succeed. Chris Naylor at Inner City Consulting agrees that “the biggest challenge will be to find enough new planners and commercial brains that are needed to make this leap”. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has responded to the proposed reforms, saying, “Our professionals are at the heart of the built environment, including planning, development, construction, and cost management, and are ready and equipped to help push these changes forward”.
Public Practice identified the skills and capacity gap in local government almost a decade ago and has been working hard to address this challenge. Promisingly, the Government has recognised the need to address the planning system’s lack of capacity.
The government is consulting on increases to planning fees, which it hopes local authorities will use to fund an additional 300 planning officers. However, we would see little difference if these 300 planners were spread evenly across the country and used to address the current backlog, as this would equate to less than one planner per council.
So while we see these announcements as positive, Public Practice would like to see talented and skilled multi-disciplinary professionals brought into the public sector and working more strategically, linking up with other Government policies such as planning for new towns, the preparation of new strategic plans (‘spatial development strategies’) and energy independence.
This would shift the culture, embolden local government to be confident in their professional skills, and empower local authorities to proactively and positively plan for, approve, and deliver high-quality places that are sustainable, equitable, and well-designed.
Key Capacity Announcements
Launch of a New Towns Taskforce
Increasing fees for householder applications
Recruiting 300 more planners
Consulting on whether local authorities set their own planning fees