IN THE FIRST State Opening of Parliament under this government, The King’s Speech announced an intention “to get Britain building”.

Planning reform will be the subject of one of 35 bills and draft bills which will deliver the government’s first steps in its efforts to rebuild Britain.

Building 

Getting Britain to build more housing and infrastructure, including through planning reform, will be central to the Government’s plans to strengthen economic growth.

A Planning and Infrastructure Bill will streamline the process for approving critical infrastructure (such as renewables), and overhaul rules on the compulsory purchase of land.

The Bill will speed up and streamline the planning process to build more homes. It will improve local planning decision making by modernising planning committees and increase local planning authorities’ capacity.

Work with nature delivery organisations, stakeholders and the housing sector over the summer aims to determine how to use development to fund nature recovery.

By enabling democratic engagement with how, not if, homes and infrastructure are built – the major brakes on the planning system will be addressed to support sustainable growth, the Government said.

Local Planning

As part of the government’s plans to change local planning, the King’s Speech announced the English Devolution Bill. With extra powers for metropolitan mayors it will transfer power into local communities and establish local growth plans.

The speech builds on the Deputy Prime Minister’s pledge to kickstart a new ‘devolution revolution’ to transfer more powers out of Westminster and into the hands of local authorities.

Additionally, the Skills England Bill will set up a new arms-length body of the same name to boost and regionalise training with the involvement of employers. Apprenticeships and the apprenticeship levy are also set to be reformed.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Now is the time to take the brakes off Britain. Today’s new laws will take back control and lay the foundations of real change that this country is crying out for, creating wealth in every community and making people better off.”

INDUSTRY REACTION

Bold Plans

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “It is positive that the new Government has already made tackling the UK’s housing crisis a key priority. For too long we’ve under delivered on housing delivery and pushed out smaller house builders from the market. However, these bold plans will only be successful if the current skills crisis in the construction industry is addressed.

“We are substantially lacking the skilled workers required to build new homes, and to upgrade our existing homes with the energy efficiency improvements which Labour have pledged. The UK is in desperate need of a long-term skills plan, to establish clear pathways into careers in construction. Unless this is delivered it is difficult to see how 1.5 million new homes will be built over the next five years.”

“One startling omission is the lack of plans to upgrade the existing housing stock. We had been expecting to see a bold plan to retrofit five million homes to make them greener and more energy efficient but clearly the purse strings have not been opened enough to allow for this. While we should be looking to build more homes we mustn’t take our eye of the existing housing stock, which is the oldest and leakiest in Europe.”

A Relief

Anna Clarke, Director of Policy & Public Affairs at The Housing Forum said: “The proposals in the King’s Speech will doubtless improve the delivery of the homes we sorely need. Planning authorities need resourcing and support to function more effectively, and approvals for major projects need streamlining to deliver key infrastructure. It is encouraging to see these being proposed by the new Government.

“More details are needed and additional support, particularly to local planning authorities. Reforming Compulsory Purchase Order rules is a helpful start but a robust legal framework is needed to give councils confidence in using them. Likewise, recruiting more planning officers is a useful start, but does not address wider recruitment and retention issues in this area.

“The housing sector has frequently asked for housing delivery to be a day one priority for the next Government, and it is a relief to see this in action.”

Elephant in the Room

Dr Jonathan Carr-West, Chief Executive, Local Government Information Unit, said: “The briefings before today have pulled in different directions. On the one hand, there were those saying the government will liberate councils, by streamlining the planning process, empowering and working together with local leaders to build new homes where local communities want them. On the other hand, there were those who claimed the government aimed to bind councils to unachievable targets imposed by the centre. As it is, the details we have now are still limited and we’ll need to see – and contribute to – how the plans develop. There is a huge opportunity here to open up planning and expand local growth.

“However, the elephant in the room is what’s not being said: local government funding reform. With half of all councils at risk of going bust in the next parliament, now is the time to provide sustainable funding and stem the flow of bankrupt boroughs.”

More Resources and Enforcement Powers

Ifath Nawaz, Senior Consultant Solicitor Planning, Setfords commented: “While we welcome the proposed improvements to the planning system, which has been neglected for many years, there are real concerns that without significant new resources to support Local Authorities, the ambitious housebuilding targets in the King’s Speech cannot be delivered. Local Authorities are already struggling to attract the expertise needed in their planning departments to handle the current workload, let alone an anticipated increase in new housing developments.

“As well as more resources, they need enhanced enforcement powers to get the homes built once developments are approved, to overcome the local objections that so often frustrate new housing. We have seen in London and Manchester the benefits of powers being devolved to local administrations. The Government’s housebuilding ambitions can only be achieved with more investment and resources, particularly for local government.”

Confidence Needed

Mike Randall, CEO, Simply Asset Finance, said: “The government has been very clear on its promise to take the brakes off the economy, but it can only succeed in doing so by working hand in hand with SMEs.

“The focus on “getting Britain building” through planning reform suggests potential opportunities in construction and infrastructure projects for smaller businesses. Moreover, at a time where there is much disparity with performance across the country, the Devolution Bill could potentially support local growth plans that directly benefit local businesses and communities. But, we will have to wait for September’s fiscal event to see if the promised reforms to the business tax regime come to pass. Then, we will have more confidence if the foundations for further growth are in place.”

Define the Grey Belt

Ryan Etchells, Chief Commercial Officer at Together, said: “The Government’s pledge to unblock planning restrictions for the housebuilding sector is very welcome, but we need to see real action.

“The success of this policy rests on utilising the UK’s ‘grey belt’ although, as of yet, we don’t have a definition of what, where or how much of this exists. Our own research has shown that at least 19% of the UK’s property professionals want more support with brownfield development, and so Labour’s focus on these sites, and those like them, should see more spades in the ground – further boosting supply and activity across the property industry.”

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