The government has vowed to tackle the housing crisis once and for all with its reforms to planning, but does its tone suggest politics yet again trumps practicality? Mark Cantrell reports
The political tone rides roughshod over sentiment, and some may worry the government is setting out to do likewise to the country, as it presents the latest round of planning reforms to save the day.
In many respects, the language – as the tone – is familiar, both from Labour, but also from the Conservatives in the era of bygone vows to (fruitlessly) tackle the housing crisis. Whatever the tone, or the content of reform proposals, however, one thing is forever a given – planning will always be a contested topic.
Labour’s changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is – according to the announcement from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government – a “planning overhaul” that is set to tackle the country’s chronic housing crisis “once and for all”, meaning that “hard graft at work will be rewarded with security at home”.
As ever – and despite the widening acknowledgement in political and policy circles that the delivery of much more social housing is a dire necessity – home ownership appears very much front and centre in the ministerial mind. The more things change, the more they stay the same; it was ever thus.
Dreaming of home
As the prime minister, Keir Starmer said: “For far too long, working people graft hard but are denied the security of owning their own home. I know how important it is – our pebble dash semi meant everything to our family growing up. But with a generation of young people whose dream of home ownership feels like a distant reality, and record levels of homelessness, there’s no shying away from the housing crisis we have inherited.
“We owe it to those working families to take urgent action, and that is what this government is doing. Our Plan for Change will put builders not blockers first, overhaul the broken planning system and put roofs over the heads of working families and drive the growth that will put more money in people’s pockets.
“We’re taking immediate action to make the dream of homeownership a reality through delivering 1.5m homes by the next parliament and rebuilding Britain to deliver for working people.”
For people who are dreaming of a secure, affordable social rent home, however, they may be excused if they feel like they’re being left out in the cold (again). Presumably, they should have made better life choices, or eaten few avocados; isn’t that the usual subtext?
Of course, politicians play to the gallery; even if they’re not genuinely ignoring the needs of those of us in the ‘cheap seats’.
In fairness, social housing does get a mention, even if it sounds as if its playing second fiddle; better than not being played at all, of course.
As the government points out, its “dire inheritance” includes 1.3 million households on the social housing waiting list, along with 160,000 children whose families are stuck in temporary accommodation. Symptoms, of course, of that chronic housing crisis. Dealing with it is a task that’s not getting any easier.
Angela Rayner, deputy prime minister, and lest we forget the secretary of state for housing, said: “From day one I have been open and honest about the scale of the housing crisis we have inherited. This mission-led government will not shy away from taking the bold and decisive action needed to fix it for good.
“We cannot shirk responsibility and leave over a million families on housing waiting lists and a generation locked out of home ownership. Our Plan for Change means overhauling planning to make the dream of a secure home a reality for working people.
“[This] landmark overhaul will sweep away last year’s damaging changes and shake-up a broken planning system which caves into the blockers and obstructs the builders.
“I will not hesitate to do what it takes to build 1.5m new homes over five years and deliver the biggest boost in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.
“We must all do our bit and we must all do more. We expect every local area to adopt a plan to meet their housing need. The question is where the homes and local services people expect are built, not whether they are built at all.”
Planning ahead
All well and good, but what has the government set out with its new planning rules under the NPPF? Well, according to MHCLG, it will include:
- Councils will be “told to play their part” to meet housing need, with new immediate mandatory housing targets for councils to ramp up housebuilding and deliver growth across the country
- Areas with the highest levels of unaffordable housing, and “greatest potential for growth” will see housebuilding targets increase, while stronger action will “ensure” councils adopt up-to-date local plans or develop new plans that “work for their communities”
- A new “common-sense” approach will be introduced to the greenbelt. The government says it remains committed to a brownfield first approach, but the updated NPPF will require councils to review their greenbelt boundaries to meet targets, identifying and prioritising so-called lower quality ‘grey belt’ land
- Any development on greenbelt must meet strict requirements, via the new ‘golden rules’, which require developers to provide the necessary infrastructure for local communities, such as nurseries, GP surgeries and transport, as well as a “premium level” of social and affordable housing
- To further tackle the housing crisis, councils and developers will also need to give greater consideration to social rent when building new homes and local leaders have greater powers to build “genuinely affordable” homes for those who need them most
According to the government, such reform is “desperately needed” if that target to build 1.5m homes is to be achieved. Under the current planning framework, MHCLG says just under one third of local authorities have adopted a local plan within the last five years, and it claims the number of homes granted planning permission had also been allowed to fall to its lowest level in a decade.
Going further, the government is introducing a new requirement that, where plans based on old targets are still in place from July 2026, councils will need to provide for an extra year’s supply of homes in their pipeline – six years instead of five.
To support councils in updating their local plans and review their current greenbelt land, the government says areas will receive an additional £100m of cash next year that can be used to hire more staff and consultants, as well as more resources to carry out technical studies and site assessments.
This is on top of “bolstering” local resources with increased planning fees to cover costs and an additional 300 planning officers, which the ministry says will make sure they have the staff and capacity needed to approve homes for local people.
Planning and the NPPF have been reformed before, of course. It remains to be seen if this round will be any different to what came before. That’s the trouble with missions, however bold – they all too easily become lost in the missive of mission statements.
Reaction
Given the stern tone the government takes with councils, perhaps it’s only fair to let them have the first shot at responding, but overall there’s a cautious welcome for the proposed changes to the NPPF, albeit it with a few caveats.
Councillor Adam Hug, housing spokesperson at the Local Government Association, said: “For councils to share the government’s ambition to tackle local housing challenges, there must be a collaborative approach. It is councils and communities who know their local areas and are therefore best placed to make judgement decisions on how to manage competing demand for land use through the local plan-led system.
“Getting housebuilding targets in the right place is a difficult task, so any national algorithms and formulas should be supplemented with local knowledge and involvement by councils and communities who know their areas best.
“Planning is about creating communities linked with the right economic activity and public services, whilst conserving and enhancing the natural and local environment. Local democratic discretion and flexibility need to remain important elements of the planning system.
“Planning reform also needs to be supported by further work to tackle workforce challenges, the costs of construction and the financial headroom of local authorities and housing associations to build the social and truly affordable homes we desperately need.
“In order to deliver the homes we need, government must work with councils and the housebuilding industry to ensure there is a suitable pipeline of sustainable sites, which once allocated in a Local Plan and/or given planning permission, are indeed built out.
“While councils recognise that swift decision-making on planning applications is critical, with nearly nearly in 10 applications granted, people cannot and do not live in planning permissions. Local authorities must be given greater powers to ensure prompt build out of sites with planning permission, as well as the ability to set planning fees at a local level.”
Councillor Peter Mason, London Councils’ executive member for planning and skills, said: “Boroughs are strongly in favour of housebuilding and growing London’s economy, and we welcome the clear direction being set by the government through the new National Planning Policy Framework.
“Planning reform is an important part of the jigsaw, but housebuilding in London faces an array of serious challenges, with spiralling construction costs, high interest rates, insufficient and overly rigid funding, and a lack of investment in local infrastructure posing significant financial barriers to the delivery of new homes.
“Alongside the Mayor of London, boroughs will continue making the case for the investment we need to unlock stalled sites in the capital and work with ministers to deliver the housing we all want to see.”
Councillor Richard Clewer, housing and planning spokesperson for the County Councils Network, said: “County and unitary councils recognise that there is a chronic housing affordability crisis across the country, and the vast majority of these local authorities do support the principle of nationally set targets. However, we are concerned that the housing targets announced today are even higher for some county and rural councils compared the initial numbers outlined in the summer.
“The re-introduction of five-year land supply, and increasing it to six years in some instances, could effectively invalidate Local Plans that have been agreed and gone through a publicly-accountable process. This could mean a developer free-for-all with more planning permissions by appeal on sites outside of Local Plans, leading to development in unsuitable locations regardless of local views.
“The government has said its changes will ensure Local Plans are delivered as agreed, but the changes announced today and the existence of the requirement to maintain a five-year housing supply is contrary to this.
“Councils understand the need to update Local Plans based on the new NPPF, and to keep them up-to-date based on sites that come forward, but in some instances these can take time and local areas should not be penalised for trying to ensure that proposals are scrutinised and local views are heard and debated properly.
“Instead, CCN strongly believes that the requirement to maintain a five-year land supply should be removed where authorities have an up-to-date local plan in place that has been approved by a planning inspector.
Clewer added: “Whilst ministers have spoken of the need to ensure we have sufficient infrastructure – such as roads, school places, and GP surgeries – to support these thousands of new homes, there is little to back up their rhetoric in the updated NPPF.
“Considering much of the new development will be in parts of county areas with limited public transport and services, it is vital the government sets out ways to better capture the money required to build the necessary infrastructure.
“With the government keen to reform many different parts of the planning system, it is an opportune time to bring back strategic planning ahead of the new housing targets, and we hope to see further details on this in the forthcoming Devolution White Paper.”
Megan Hinch, senior policy and practice lead on planning for the Chartered Institute of Housing, said: “We’re pleased to see the government’s continued focus on tackling the housing crisis and building much-needed homes. We’ll want to work through the details, but we welcome the headline reforms, particularly the emphasis on strategic planning and social rented housing.
“Coupled with the prime minister’s recent announcements on infrastructure development and housebuilding, these measures can help create healthy, sustainable communities. The additional £100 million for council planning officers is a positive step, acknowledging the financial struggles of many local authorities.
“However, planning reform alone won’t solve the housing crisis – we also need significant investment in the Spending Review to help the sector meet the government’s 1.5m homes target.”
Elizabeth Froude, group chief executive, Platform Housing Group, said: “Following [the] announcement by the government on how it intends to tackle the housing crisis, we are heartened that dealing with this is such a key priority.
“Unfortunately, there has been no mention of setting any increased need for more affordable housing on greenbelt land; this is clearly very disappointing for housing associations as it will prevent increased levels of new affordable homes being built.
“There was also no acknowledgement of the need to support the skills agenda in the construction industry; nurturing and developing home-grown skills is an absolutely critical part of our ability to keep on building for the long term.”
Nicholas Harris, chief executive of housing association Stonewater, said: “The recent updates to the National Planning Policy Framework are a positive step, but they are just one part of the solution to the housing crisis.
“Streamlining the planning process through a zonal system with agreed Local Plans and identified housing needs would speed up the process and enable more efficient public engagement.
“Our projects can take anywhere from 12 to 18 months to have a decision made, with one recent scheme taking more than two years to receive approval. By taking these steps, the government can help to deliver more affordable homes and address the housing crisis.
“Furthermore, while the government’s commitment to homebuilding targets is encouraging, funding remains a critical issue for the affordable housing sector.
“To address this, we urge the government to clarify future funding programmes as soon as possible. This will enable the sector to plan effectively and provide confidence to the supply chain. Additionally, implementing a rolling five-year rent settlement would allow housing associations to implement long-term business plans and ensure financial stability.”
Dinny Shaw, head of planning at Places for People (PfP), said: “[The] new National Planning Policy Framework is the seismic change we need in planning and demonstrates that this is a government listening to the sector. The right framework is essential, and the implementation of the grey belt definition is to be applauded, to help bring more sites into scope.
“But new definitions and a brownfield first approach alone won’t help us meet the government’s self-proclaimed ambitious targets. Now we need the right people with the right skills in local planning departments to turn these rules into more planning permissions so we can get these homes so urgently needed built.
“We must keep this conversation going. For PfP, it’s not just about building homes, it’s about creating new thriving communities where people are connected to their neighbours, and nature and proud of the place they call home.”
Further responses
Richard Petty, head of UK residential valuation at real estate firm JLL, said: “Planning is a vital piece of the puzzle when it comes to addressing the housing supply challenge – but it can’t be treated in isolation from the wider industry and what it really needs to get anywhere near the government’s 1.5m homes ambition.
“Three hundred extra planners will be welcome – but this represents fewer than one per council in England alone, never mind the rest of the UK. The £100m is a lot of money for 300 planners, so we can expect to see the bulk of that budget spent on consultants and technical studies.
“Ultimately planners don’t build anything. What is missing in the government’s approach is recognition that we need to replace the construction workforce through training and immigration – without builders, targets mean nothing.”
Marcus Dixon, director of UK residential research at JLL, added: “There is no doubt that historically planning has been a barrier to the delivery of new homes, so plans to streamline the planning system and open up more land for development should be welcomed. But, planning is just one cog in the development machine.
“Our development sector is set up to build 200,000 homes per annum so we’ll need to support growth in sector recruitment, become more efficient (or ideally both).
“Viability remains key too, if we are reliant on housebuilders and the private sector to scale up delivery we need to demonstrate that there are buyers (RPs, institutions and owner occupiers) to take up stock.
“If restrictions on development or demands on developers through planning are deemed unaffordable those sites won’t be delivered, so a pragmatic approach to delivery, thresholds and targets will be vital to encourage activity.”
Simon Brown, chief executive of Landmark Information Group, said: “The publication of the updated National Planning Policy Framework is a significant moment to tackle long-standing challenges in housing and infrastructure to deliver the government’s ambitious 1.5m home target.
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.”
Alun Williams, partner at London law firm Spector Constant & Williams, said: “An area of concern for developers will be how the viability tested provision of affordable housing is dealt with. Where a scheme is assessed as sustaining less than the appropriate threshold, will this still result in a referral to committee or will the planning officer have sufficient discretion to approve the application?
“That question may well determine how successful the reforms are in applications being determined more efficiently and the government achieving the stated target of 1.5m new homes within this parliament.”
Allisson Whittington, head of housing and health at Zurich UK, said: “Increasing the supply of housing for those that need it most is always welcome. However, while we understand the government’s desire and need to increase the housing supply through an enhanced building programme, we would caution against rushing planning decisions and pressing local authorities to build on areas, such as floodplains, that might not be sustainable.
“We need to build resilient homes that we can be proud of in years to come and that will combat the rigours of everyday life, and if we rush the planning and development process now then this may cause problems in years to come.
“Housing associations already make a significant contribution to the delivery of the new housing supply despite having had their finances stretched over recent years, but they need the right support in place to enable them to continue to play their part in creating homes for all.”
Image: Myvisuals/Shutterstock
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