Labour’s planning revolution

From consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework and reviving the onshore wind industry to providing more planning officers and ushering in further devolution in England, the new government has hit the ground running on planning and the built environment. The new Labour government is shepherding in a new era of planning reform. Changing the planning system and “getting Britain building again” was a key plank of the Labour manifesto and the government’s plan to grow the economy.  It is not wasting any time in delivering on those manifesto promises. In the first few days of the new administration, chancellor Rachel Reeves gave a speech setting out the immediate direction of travel for the planning system. Key highlights from that speech included: a consultation on a new National Planning Policy Framework before the end of July, including a “return” to mandatory housing targets; a new policy statement removing the “ban” on onshore wind, and a consultation to follow shortly on bringing onshore wind into the programme of nationally significant infrastructure projects; prioritisation of new energy projects that are already in the system; a new task force to be created to unlock housing sites that have stalled, including Liverpool central docks, Northstowe and Worcestershire Parkway; work to provide 300 additional planning officers across the country; a more interventionist approach to planning appeals, particularly where economic interests are a key factor; the secretary of state to write to all local planning authorities to confirm the need to ensure universal coverage of local plans, reviews of green belt boundaries (brownfield and grey-belt land to be key targets) and other key policy priorities; and National Policy Statements for priority infrastructure to be updated by the end of the year. The speech stated that there was “no time to waste”, and that certainly seems to be the approach being taken by the new administration. The policy statement withdrawing the “embargo” on onshore wind was published before the chancellor had left the podium, and two major data centre appeals were called in during the new administration’s first weekend in power. Since then, we have had three nationally significant solar farm permissions being granted, the rebranding of the department formally known as DLUHC as MHCLG, announcements on further devolution measures and, of course, the King’s Speech.  High on the to-do list The King’s Speech reiterated that planning reform was very high on the new government’s agenda. In fact, it was second, immediately after a section on the importance of economic growth. The speech included a proposed “Planning and Infrastructure Bill”, which is designed to: streamline the delivery process for critical infrastructure, including accelerating upgrades to the National Grid and boosting renewable energy; simplify the consenting process for major infrastructure projects and enable relevant, new and improved National Policy Statements to come forward, establishing a review process that provides the opportunity for them to be updated every five years; further reform the compulsory purchase compensation rules; improve local planning decision-making by modernising planning committees; increase local planning authorities’ capacity, to improve performance and decision-making, providing a more predictable service to developers and investors; and use development to fund nature recovery where currently both are stalled, unlocking a win-win outcome for the economy and for nature. In addition, there is to be an English Devolution Bill, which will set the framework for the return of strategic planning on a larger-than-local level. The lack of an express “New Towns Bill” is perhaps a little surprising but it may be sensible to get a little further along in deciding the location of those new settlements before the legislative framework for providing them is put in place. Welcome moves The focus on improving capacity and processes within local planning authorities has been widely welcomed. Local authority capacity and resourcing is a genuine problem, and previous attempts to address it, while largely welcomed, have not yet made much of an impact. The return of an effective form of strategic planning is also something that many in the development sector have been lobbying for. Many difficult decisions around infrastructure planning, logistics and housing need expand far beyond traditional local authority boundaries, and the lack of an effective way of planning for these cross-boundary issues has been a problem for some time. At the time of writing, the consultation on the revised “growth-focused” National Planning Policy Framework has yet to open. It is, however, expected to reverse many of the Conservative government’s more recent changes, particularly around the “softening” of housing targets and the use of the standard method for calculating housing need. It is also expected to introduce Labour’s new approach to green-belt land, whereby poorly performing areas are to be looked at first for release for development (the so-called “grey-belt” sites), as part of a wider strategic review of green-belt boundaries. New brooms Many of these measures were heavily featured in the government’s manifesto prior to the election, and so the fact that they are being prioritised for delivery should not be a surprise. The government’s apparent determination to deliver at pace might have something to do with the ministerial teams that have been put in place. Key appointments within MHCLG include: Angela Rayner as the secretary of state for housing, communities and local government (and deputy prime minister); Matthew Pennycook as the minister of state for planning and housing; and Jim McMahon as the minister of state for local government. Both Rayner and Pennycook are in roles they shadowed while in opposition, meaning they have had time to get up to speed on both their proposed briefs and the new government’s policy ambitions. They have come into their roles with a largely fleshed-out set of policies and a clear sense of their priorities. The sector has recently received a joint letter from Rayner and Steve Reed, the newly appointed secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs, reflecting on the commitment across the Labour government regarding working collaboratively together. The letter also reiterated the message that the environment will be at the heart of decision-making – the message being simple: yes, we want economic growth; yes, we want to deliver on housebuilding and key infrastructure, but there is also a massive yes to protecting and enhancing the environment and nature recovery. This is held in place with confirmation of the desire to meet the targets set out in the Environment Act 2021 (there was a suspicion that the biodiversity net gain targets could be watered down), as well as achieving the net zero targets by 2030 and 2050. This is underpinned by one of the first announcements by Reed regarding the Water (Special Measures) Bill, which aims to strengthen regulation around the water companies, make them more accountable for failures and ring-fence funds for key infrastructure investment instead of paying dividends to shareholders. This could be the missing piece of the puzzle with regard to the regulation of water companies. Clean energy mission Not to be outdone, Ed Miliband, secretary of state for energy security and net zero – another secretary of state holding that position in the shadow cabinet – has hit the ground running. The Great British Energy Bill will seek to own, develop and operate clean energy assets in partnership with the private sector to achieve the mission to develop clean energy by 2030.  The lifting of the de facto ban on onshore wind in England is the first step towards achieving this mission. The next is to modernise the nationally significant infrastructure projects regime for key pieces of infrastructure to make it fit for purpose. Perhaps the surprising element to the package announced in the King’s Speech was the introduction of the Crown Estate Bill, to accelerate investments in its estate, especially the seabed, which is seen as critical to delivering more offshore wind projects. The appointment of climate and energy expert Chris Stark to lead “Mission Control” shows the commitment this new government has to achieving this. The real question will be whether these policies can be delivered fast enough for their effect to be felt before the end of the term. Five years is not a very long time to turn around something as complex and contentious as our planning system. It looks, however, as if the government is, at the very least, determined to try. Claire Petricca-Riding is head of planning and environment and Nicola Gooch is planning partner at Irwin Mitchell Image © ANDY RAIN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock