All English councils will be told to prioritise brownfield developments to boost housebuilding while protecting the green belt.
The bar for refusing brownfield plans will also be made much higher for big city councils who are failing to hit their locally agreed house building targets, the Government has said.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “We pledged to build the right homes in the right places – protecting our precious countryside and building more in urban areas where demand is highest. Today’s package is us delivering on that.
“We are sticking to our plan and are on track to meet our commitment to deliver one million homes over the course of this Parliament, and the changes announced today will deliver the right mix of homes across England.”
A consultation on proposals will launch today (TUES) and run until March 26, and the Government will look to implement these changes to national planning policy as soon as possible.
The Government is also helping developers overcome “tiresome bureaucracy” by slashing red tape that stops derelict sites and unused buildings being turned into new homes.
Ministers plan to consult on proposals that would see more new extensions or large loft conversions freed from the “arduous process” of receiving planning permission.
Housing Secretary Michael Gove said: “Today marks another important step forward in our Long-Term Plan for Housing, taking a brownfield first approach to deliver thousands of new homes where people want to live and work, without concreting over the countryside.
“Our new brownfield presumption will tackle under delivery in our key towns and cities – where new homes are most needed to support jobs and drive growth.”
Brownfield refers to land that is abandoned or underutilized due to pollution from industrial use.
Meanwhile the aim of the greenbelt is to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open around urban areas.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) said that between 1997 and 2010, average housing delivery was over 170,000 a year.
Since 2019, DLUHC said this has been ramped up to over 233,000 new homes a year on average.
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