The government has introduced its Planning and Infrastructure Bill to parliament, promising significant measures to speed up planning decisions to boost housebuilding and remove unnecessary blockers and challenges to the delivery of vital developments like roads, railway lines and windfarms.
The Bill comes alongside wider planning reforms, including the new National Planning Policy Framework, and is at the heart of the government’s mission to deliver 1.5m homes.
It includes streamlining planning decisions through the introduction of a national scheme of delegation that will set out which types of applications should be determined by officers and which should go to committee, alongside the establishment of a nature restoration fund.
Other key measures include reforms to the compulsory purchase process, the strengthening of development corporations and the introduction of a strategic planning system across England which will boost growth by looking across multiple planning authorities for the most sustainable areas to build and ensure there is a clear join-up between development needs and infrastructure requirements.
Deputy prime minister and secretary of state for housing, Angela Rayner said: “We’re creating the biggest building boom in a generation as a major step forward in getting Britain building again and unleashing economic growth in every corner of the country.” She said the Bill would lifting the bureaucratic burden which has been holding back developments for too long.
“The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will unleash seismic reforms to help builders get shovels in the ground quicker to build more homes, and the vital infrastructure we need to improve transport links and make Britain a clean energy superpower to protect billpayers.
“These reforms are at the heart of our Plan for Change, ensuring we are backing the builders, taking on the blockers, and delivering the homes and infrastructure this country so badly needs.”
Industry specialists welcome the proposed changes.
Matthew Evans, counsel in the planning team at Forsters law firm, said: “It is encouraging to see the government is sticking to its timelines on bringing forward planning reform. For too long the planning system has functioned inefficiently to the real detriment of new homes delivery and economic growth. The government’s creative thinking about how to free up planning officer time to determine more applications by moving to a system where delegated decisions are made by default, is a move in the right direction and aligns with its emphasis on a plan-led system. Other steps to speed up the decision-making process, including reducing the number and scope of statutory consultees are positive.
“These reforms should reduce uncertainty in the system and enable schemes to progress to delivery more quickly.”
Dinny Shaw, head of planning at Places for People, added: “Today’s announcement on the measures to be included in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill reinforces this government’s commitment to tackling the housing crisis. Places for People will always support proposals to remove blockages and accelerate decision-making. We hope that through debate, these measures can go further and make an even stronger contribution.
“The status quo still has too many people unable to access the homes they need. While we will continue to pursue new development opportunities as part of our commitment to support the government in accelerating their homebuilding programme, the sector needs sustained investment and the right skills to turn this ambition into reality. Legislative reforms must be backed up by a strong commitment in the Spending Review in June.”
Pete Gladwell, group managing director of public investment at L&G, said: “To drive national economic growth, boost productivity, achieve positive environmental impact and deliver genuinely affordable housing, the barriers hindering the delivery of homes and clean energy infrastructure in Britain must be removed. We welcome the introduction of the government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill to Parliament, which marks a significant and positive step in addressing these obstacles and paves the way for further long-term investment from companies such as L&G, enabling the faster delivery of new homes and clean energy infrastructure.”
Jason Lowes, Planning Partner at Rapleys, said: “The announcement by the government about statutory consultees is consistent with its ‘build, build, build’ message, which has been a positive one for most in the property industry. As a generality, statutory consultees play a key role in the planning system, but the message we often get when they are involved is that they are underresourced and often struggle with the volume of applications that they are expected to deal with.
“Further, by their very nature, the bodies are focused on their own specialised subject and sometimes wider planning benefits can get lost. A more refined approach to when statutory consultees get involved in planning applications would be beneficial, in the interests of making the planning system more efficient, and – it is hoped – freeing up the bodies themselves to focus on the proposals that are of most relevance to them, and where their input is most important. However, the proposals are just that, proposals – time will tell what the final position is – but in general terms the changes are to be welcomed.”
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