As part of Labour’s plans to ‘Get Britain Building’, Angela Rayner has outlined plans for a major overhaul of the planning permissions process.
Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has announced a major overhaul of local planning committees to help fast-track UK planning decisions and tackle the housing crisis
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Planning Overhaul: What’s included?
The changes will completely modernise the planning approval process, allowing applications that comply with local development plans to bypass planning committees altogether. What’s more, local planning officers will have more power with an enhanced decision-making role to implement any agreed planning policy. The government claims this will help combat current delays and unnecessary wastes of time and resources.
Furthermore, the measures will introduce a national delegation scheme and create streamlined committees for strategic development. Planning committee members will also be required to undergo new mandatory training.
What do the changes mean for the housing sector?
These changes are designed to give housebuilders more security in knowing that good schemes are in place with already-agreed local development plans, allowing for a much quicker approval process. Labour hopes this will kickstart economic growth and raise living standards across England.
Rayner commented on the changes: “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.”
“Grasping the nettle of planning committee reform and fast-tracking decision-making is a vital part of our Plan for Change. Building 1.5 million homes over five years means tackling the housing crisis we inherited head-on with bold action.”
The government is expected to confirm sweeping changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) this month following a consultation launched back in July.
What does this mean for landlords?
It’s positive to see the government is prioritising new initiatives to help boost the housing market. With the Renters’ Rights Bill (RRB) set to be introduced next year, the sector can only expect more changes to come. We hope that the government will enforce this co-operative approach when implementing the RRB and work with the market to find positive solutions to help boost activity.
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