MORNING NEWS: Councils given mandatory targets in new NPPF

Good morning. Here’s your daily round-up of the latest news and views from EG and a collection of industry-relevant headlines from the nationals, all perfectly curated to set you up for the day ahead. Fresh reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework will see local councils told they must play their part to meet housing need by reaching an ambitious new combined target of 370,000 homes a year.  The new framework sets mandatory targets for councils to ramp up housebuilding across the country. Under new planning rules, areas with the highest unaffordability for 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 common-sense approach to the green belt will also be introduced. While remaining committed to a brownfield-first approach, the updated NPPF will require councils to review their green belt boundaries to meet targets, identifying and prioritising lower quality “grey belt” land.    Deputy prime minister and secretary of state for housing Angela Rayner said: “This mission-led government will not shy away from taking the bold and decisive action needed to fix it for good.    “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,” said Rayner. ”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.”   “Tight control” of costs at Allsop has enabled the agent to deliver almost £16m of profit to its members and a turnover of more than £45m. Senior partner Scott Tyler said the business had seen strong performance from its auctions business, particularly in residential, which had a record year. “We are pleased to have pushed turnover and profit along in the last 12 months,” said Tyler. “Our strategic vision remains to be the go-to partner in UK property transactions, consultancy and management services by prioritising trust, transparency and an exceptional partner-led service. To sustain long-term growth, we will continue to develop a balanced portfolio of services that complement each other and can trade successfully through unpredictable property cycles.” Elsewhere, roadside services joint venture Roadside Retail has taken its spending to more than £100m in the the past three months, while British Land has continued with its retail park shopping spree, adding the 123,000 sq ft Orbital retail park in Cannock to its portfolio. All of the news from EG, plus a selection of headlines from the nationals: Turnover rises at AllsopRoadside jv snaps up Cambridgeshire servicesHines confident 2025 will be ‘turning point’ for real estateBlackstone makes Japan’s biggest inward investmentCOMMENT: COP29 takeaways for property investorsGovernment unveils NPPF reforms to deliver 1.5m homes targetBL adds another retail park to portfolio with Orbital buyCBRE names new head of European logistics occupier businessGym Group makes appointment in expansion driveUK debt market set to surge in 2025Report calls for a new town to be built in LondonPraxis acquires Kent town centre siteValor buys north London industrial estate from HBD for £20mDoes the UK have enough workers to ‘get Britain building?” (£)Targets for affordable housing on green belt weakened in English planning reform (£)Labour bid to ‘bulldoze’ the Home Counties (£)