Government consults on next wave of planning reforms.
Last week, the government unveiled the next stage of proposed planning reforms with two announcements demonstrating a notable change in tone.
Having previously focussed the brunt of attention on the ‘NIMBYs’ and ‘blockers’, Kier Starmer told housebuilders via a post on X last week to “get on with it”, unveiling plans to create a ‘Delayed Homes Penalty’ for those who consistently miss build out timescales.
Launching the working paper over the bank holiday weekend, Secretary of State Angela Rayner added that “housebuilders will have to commit to delivery timeframes before they get planning permission, making sure they play their part to accelerate housebuilding”.
Just three days later, her department published another working paper, this time proposing reforms for SME housebuilders for sites with fewer than 50 homes; this would include a new categorisation of “medium-sized sites” between 10 and 49 homes. These sites would be exempt from the Building Safety Levy and held to simpler BNG rules, as well as potentially gaining access to a new “National Housing Delivery” financing fund.
These announcements coincided with another technical consultation, published the same day, seeking views on proposed planning committee reforms. The consultation asks for feedback on proposals including mandatory training for committee members as well as guidance on the size and type of planning application which can be called in by committee.
Whilst the industry has broadly welcomed the government’s effort to speed up housing delivery, the change of rhetoric and potential use of financial penalties must be of concern as build out delays can come from many factors outside of the developer’s control, including interest rates and purchaser demand !
As we reported in January, Angela Rayner promised the Housing, Communities and Local Government committee that developers would face both “carrot and stick” in the government’s drive for new homes. Having perhaps enjoyed much of the former in the first wave of announced reforms, it appears we may now be seeing the latter.
