A new interactive map shows the full extent of Angela Rayner’s « war on the countryside » as Labour forces councils across the England to surge house building.
The deputy PM and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, will take decisions out of the hands of local council planning committees, which she says have been responsible for “unacceptable delays” and holding back economic growth.
In a bid to meet its target of delivering 1.5million new dwellings, the Labour government has announced revised targets for the number of homes that councils must approve to be built in their areas.
Ministers are also changing the rules so that more decisions can be made directly by council officials to cut down on lengthy consultation processes.
But councils, opposition parties, and NIMBYs have come out in force to oppose the move, citing factors like the impact on natural beauty surrounding the sites and the local community.
Use our interactive tool below to see how many homes are building built in your neighbourhood…
Rayner said: “Building more homes and infrastructure across the country means unblocking the clogged-up planning system that serves as a chokehold on growth.
« The government will deliver a sweeping overhaul of the creaking local planning committee system, » she added.
“Streamlining the approvals process by modernising local planning committees means tackling the chronic uncertainty and damaging delays that acts as a drag anchor on building the homes people desperately need. »
Proposed developments will be fast-tracked if they comply with local plans drawn up by councils. These give broad targets, like building more homes, and identify areas suitable for development.
In August it was announced that local authorities across England would be told to build 371,541 homes a year, an increase from the 305,223 a year target under the previous government.
The building target was subequently lowered to 370,408 following a consultation.
Some councils have seen their targets increase compared to the August announcement, while others now won’t be tasked with building as many as expected.
Many of the councils that have seen their targets decrease since August are in the North and Midlands, of which Birmingham had the biggest fall.
The council has a new target of 4,448 new homes, 526 fewer than was announced in August, while Leeds now has a target of 3,811 new homes, 348 fewer than the previous target.
Other areas include Sheffield, which has a new target of 2,390 , 277 fewer than in August, and Bradford which is obligated to consruct 1,828 (261 fewer), among others.
However, Councils in London and the South have seen targets increase, with Kensington and Chelsea’s target rising by 836 new homes a year.
Meanwhile, the likes of Westminster, Wandsworth, Camden, and Hackney have seen their targets spike by 549, 503, 422, and 414 respectively.
In one of the most controversial changes to the country’s planning rules for a generation, areas of the greenbelt will be reclassified as what Labour calls « grey belt » land, meaning areas that are technically within the green belt but lack beauty will be opened up for development.
The Lib Dems and the Conservatives laid into the plans, with Tory Housing spokesman Kevin Hollinrake accusing Labour of hypocrisy after cutting the housebuilding target for the capital – despite it being the most desperately in need of more dwellings.
« The Conservatives delivered over a million homes in the last Parliament, but it is vital that even more are built in the right places with the right infrastructure, » Hollinrake argued.
« Labour will bulldoze through the concerns of local communities. If Labour really want homes to be built where they are needed, they must think again, » he added.
Meanwhile, the Lib Dems branded Rayner’s move a “Whitehall diktat”, accusing her of undermining trust in politics by planning to ignore local communities, and councils have also voiced frustration at being sidelined.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “This is the worst housing crisis in living memory, and in order to fix this we need to build 1.5 million homes.
“That’s why we have introduced mandatory housing targets for councils and laid out clear plans to support their delivery, including by changing planning rules to allow homes to be built on grey belt land and recruiting 300 additional planning officers.”
Source link
