In her first speech as Chancellor, The Rt. Hon. Rachel Reeves MP emphasised stability, investment and reform as her three pillars essential for ensuring growth is the Labour government’s national mission.
The Chancellor highlighted that ‘nowhere is decisive reform needed more than in planning’, and announced initiatives to speed up the grid, remove barriers to onshore wind, and review the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Builders, said: “The NFB has been at the forefront of lobbying for planning reform, so it is exciting to have a government that understands why reforming it will deliver and sustain employment, housing, transport, regional and national strategy, and investor confidence. Tax cuts enable growth because they free up funding, but if money cannot be invested due to anti-growth agendas, it gets wasted on bureaucracy, held back or goes abroad. It is fantastic to have a Chancellor who understands this reality.
“Labour have had a consistent message on planning reform throughout their campaign and it bodes well for the country that they appear to be sticking to their promises – something sorely missing over these last five years. The NFB Manifesto, ‘Supporting Construction to Power Growth,’ contains many planning reform recommendations and we look forward to having a chance to explain them to the new government.”
The announced NPPF review is a necessary first step in implementing Labour’s promise to reintroduce housing targets and ensure the ambition of the ‘grey belt’ is realised. The new Government has already announced the removal of footnotes in the NPPF that hinder onshore wind development.
Rico Wojtulewicz, Head of Policy and Market Insight, said: “Labour is correct to review the NPPF because the most recent review removed housing ambition, took powers away from councils to allocate land, increased the discretionary planning process by introducing vague language, and where sensible approaches were introduced, such as National Development Management Policies, powers were taken away to enable them in practice.
“Without planning reform, growth Is either temporary or in sectors without substantial knock-on investment, such as the services sector. This needs to change and we should look at Birmingham as an example of how to do it well.
“The second city’s automotive industry didn’t just need premises to build cars but also facilities to manufacture components. This, alongside tens of thousands of industry-specific jobs, was enabled across the entire Midlands region and supported by a nationally accessible transport network, once again made possible by decisive, strategic planning. In turn, this fuelled investment in ancillary businesses, such as aftermarket care and nationally spread garages.
“With new technologies coming thick and fast and green industries growing exponentially, the UK cannot afford to delay enablement. Labour’s immediate decision to unlock onshore wind projects should give the nation hope that ‘national renewal’ and ‘growth’ are not just slogans.”
Following the speech, Neil Jefferson, Chief Executive of the Home Builders Federation, said: “The home building industry stands ready to support the Chancellor’s ambitious plans for housing with investment, job creation and the new homes the country needs.
“As she identified, we can only build if we plan effectively and if councils take responsibility for the housing needs of their communities. We also need to address the lack of capacity in local authority planning departments and unblock the 160,000 homes held up by nutrient neutrality.
“We must also consider the current struggles of first-time buyers to take their first steps on the housing ladder. In this environment it is frustrating that, for the first time in decades, there is no active government support for aspiring homeowners.
“Building the homes the country needs will address the social issues our housing crisis is creating, provide young people with access to decent housing, whilst creating tens of thousands of jobs and boosting investment in communities in every area of the country.”
HBF has published a housing blueprint for the next government, detailing measures it believes are crucial to tackling decreasing housing supply and addressing existing barriers to home builders delivering much-needed homes, including:
- calls for a new, targeted first-time buyer scheme, the expansion of green mortgages and the abolishment of stamp duty for the purchase of homes with an A or B EPC.
- finding a resolution to nutrient neutrality - including calls to bring forward legislation to unblock 160,000 homes currently on hold due to Natural England’s disproportionate mitigation measures.
- reinstating mandatory housing targets and the Five-Year Housing Land Supply,
- reform of the Standard Method of Housing Need
- ringfencing planning application fees for planning purposes
- acceleration of the implementation of National Development Management policies.
- developing a roadmap for the talent pipeline needed to deliver low-carbon, sustainable housing
The Chancellor’s proposals to deliver much needed housing and planning reforms are welcome news, but there is a serious question about how these initiatives will be delivered given the current skills crisis in the building industry, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).
Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB commented: “There are many positives to take from the new Chancellor’s announcement today for the nation’s local house builders. The restoration of mandatory local housebuilding targets will be crucial to meeting Labour’s ambition to build 1.5 million more homes, and it is essential that SME builders are included in this process, so that market diversity in can be restored. More information on Labour’s much-trailed ‘Grey Belt’ proposals are also welcome as land to develop upon is in short supply. However, the UK is currently experiencing a construction skills crisis, and there are serious questions to be asked about how deliverable any of this is, without a long-term training and skills plan to ensure the workforce is in place.
“The Chancellor’s confirmation that a new draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) will be published before August, including enhanced presumptions in the planning system in favour of sustainable development, is a positive step forward and one that should help local house builders. To pull this off will require government departments working in tandem to ensure we have the skilled workers available to deliver these plans. The Government now needs to address how the skills shortage will be tacked.”
Aligning the planning system with the Climate and Environment Acts will help navigate what and where to build, said the UK Green Building Council - which represents some of the UK's biggest names in the built environment, including housebuilders, banks, social housing providers, local councils, developers, estates and engineering companies and universities.
Simon McWhirter, Deputy Chief Executive of the UKGBC, said: “To end the eternal battle around planning, Rachel Reeves will need to give the system a clear and progressive new purpose that everyone can get behind. So that every planning decision helps, not hinders, affordability, access to public services and climate and nature.
“In opposition, Labour rightly voted to align the planning system with the Climate Act. Also aligning it to the Environment Act will help navigate what and where to build.
“It’s excellent to hear there will be 300 new planning officers across the country, filling some of the gaps after years of cuts”.
Cllr Louise Gittins, Chair of the Local Government Association, which represents councils, said councils stand ready to help the Government achieve our shared ambitions to boost inclusive economic growth and housebuilding: “National growth can only be achieved if every local economy is firing on all cylinders. Councils can play a vital leading role in unlocking labour markets, creating jobs, directing housing delivery, plugging skills gaps, and increasing productivity with devolved powers to run local skills and employment schemes and longer-term funding arrangements.
“We want to work closely with the Government to ensure new planning proposals deliver more high-quality affordable homes where they are needed, supported by the right infrastructure and are climate friendly.
“Any housebuilding targets will need to take account of local circumstances. Across England there are over a million homes allocated in local plans which are waiting to be taken up by developers. While these sites do not yet have planning permission, they have formally been identified as suitable for housing by councils.
“Councils need the proper levers to deliver proposals that genuinely support a faster build-out of schemes.”
