The Government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill will do little to get spades in the ground and increase England’s housing supply.
It represents one of the biggest power grabs from councils in decades and will strip councillors of their democratic rights to make decisions on some of the most contentious planning applications that impact our communities.
The last Conservative government rightfully abolished mandatory housing targets, recognising that it is not councils that are blocking development. Indeed, 87 per cent of applications that come before councils are approved.
Mandatory housing targets are nothing more than a gimmick given that most councils, through no fault of their own, will struggle to meet those targets.
“Mandatory housing targets are nothing more than a gimmick”
We must question why it is that more than a million homes with approval are yet to be built. The answer? Because developers simply aren’t building out what they have received permission to build.
Introducing a national scheme of delegation on what applications our committees can and cannot decide is redundant. Why should a Whitehall official dictate this?
And if they want to deliver housing, why doesn’t the bill get rid of arcane EU nutrient neutrality regulations, which will release £18 billion to the economy and increase supply by 41,000 homes a year.
If Labour wants to deliver growth, it should step away, give us the freedoms we need, and let us get on with the job.