Politics of Planning

On 3 November, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government  James Brokenshire announced a new  Commission to “tackle the challenge of poor-quality design and build of homes and places, across the country."

Sir Oliver Letwin MP’s review into the slow buildout of housing developments has been published, concluding that a new set of planning rules should be formulated to speed up the construction of developments of over 1,500 homes.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced a new £10 millon ‘Homebuilding Capacity Fund’ to increase London borough councils’ housing and planning staff.

On Friday 12 October SP Broadway hosted a Politics of Planning breakfast roundtable discussion at Chichester Cathedral with Leader of Chichester District Council, Cllr Tony Dignum .

Last week, SP Broadway attended the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, where amongst the continuing debate over a Brexit deal, housing featured high on the agenda.

At last week’s Labour Party conference in Liverpool, Shadow Minister for Planning Roberta Blackman-Woods launched the party’s first ‘Planning Commission’.

With just over a year and a half to go until the next London mayoral elections, the Conservative Party have announced Shaun Bailey as their candidate.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has clashed with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, having overruled the council’s refusal of a large housing, shopping and office development at Notting Hill Gate.

The Prime Minister has announced a £2 billion worth of funding for housing associations to increase homebuilding to come available in 2022 - marking a break from Conservative housing philosophy dating back to Margaret Thatcher.

Last week the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government announced the 'Housing Delivery Fund' in conjunction with Barclays Bank– a new £1 billion fund designed to kickstart SME housebuilding and speed up delivery.