Councils must meet new mandatory housing targets as part of government plans to build 1.5 million homes by the next general election.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), published in December, also sets out changes to the approach to developments in the Green Belt, a definition of ‘grey belt’, and proposals to localise planning fees.
Councils in England have just a few weeks to commit to a new timetable for their local development plans, with the NPPF prioritising the preparation and maintenance of up-to-date plans.
Cllr Adam Hug, Chair of the LGA’s Local Infrastructure and Net Zero Board, said: “For councils to share the Government’s ambition to tackle local housing challenges, there must be a collaborative approach.
“It is councils and communities who know their local areas and are therefore best placed to make judgement decisions on how to manage competing demand for land use through the local plan-led system.
“Getting housebuilding targets in the right place is a difficult task, so any national algorithms and formulas should be supplemented with local knowledge and involvement by councils and communities.
“Planning reform also needs to be supported by further work to tackle workforce challenges, the costs of construction and the financial headroom of local authorities and housing associations to build the social and truly affordable homes we desperately need.”
He added: “Local authorities must be given greater powers to ensure prompt build-out of sites with planning permission, as well as the ability to set planning fees at a local level.”
- See ‘Building blocks’ for more on the revised National Planning Policy Framework.