5 June 2024
What does a new Labour government mean for the planning system?
The Labour manifesto commits to “immediately” updating the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), to reverse some of the changes introduced by the Conservative Party, including re-instating mandatory housing targets.
The current version of the NPPF refers to the standard method for assessing housing need as “an advisory starting-point”. It is hoped that a firmer policy basis for assessing housing need will incentivise local authorities to more readily grant planning permission for residential developments.
Labour has committed to planning reform that would allow for 1.5 million homes to be built over the parliament. This equates to the delivery of 300,000 homes per year – a delivery rate successive governments have promised but failed to achieve.
To reach the 1.5 million home target, the Labour Party has committed to:
- taking a “brownfield first approach” and fast-tracking developments on urban brownfield sites;
- preserving high quality greenbelt land while releasing lower quality “grey belt” land for development;
- building a new generation of new towns in addition to urban extensions and regeneration projects;
- strengthening planning obligations and amending the Affordable Homes Programme to allow for delivery of “the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation”; and
- unlocking development affected by nutrient neutrality
We await the full details with anticipation.
