The housing division has written to the top of the nation’s planning physique telling it that local planners should present growth “flexibility” of their plans and formally revoked their green belt restrictions.
“The present system of local plan making is simply too gradual and cumbersome,” wrote housing minister Matthew Pennycook (pictured) in a letter to Planning Inspectorate chief govt Paul Morrison yesterday.
This authorities physique is accountable for the enforcement of appeals and holding inquiries into local growth plans.
The letter comes as local planning our bodies put together growth plans for the subsequent 5 years, and because the authorities pushes forward with its goal to construct 1.5 million properties by the subsequent election.
Pennycook mentioned: “That is why we’re dedicated to introducing a brand new mannequin of local plan growth that permits higher, shorter plans to be produced sooner.
“We intend to publish the laws and steering that may underpin that mannequin later this yr, and I do know that you simply share my willpower that the Planning Inspectorate work alongside and assist local planning authorities to make sure good plans are put in place as effectively as doable.”
The minister added that these plans “present the mandatory certainty and confidence for the sector to deliver ahead the event required throughout the nation”.
But Pennycook added that forward of the “new plan-making system” coming into pressure, it’s “important that inspectors method examinations of present system plans with the suitable diploma of flexibility”.
The minister added that the passage of the federal government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill would assist push housing and infrastructure tasks ahead.
This Bill cleared its third studying within the House of Commons in June and can transfer to the report stage within the House of Lords on 20 October.
The housing division hopes that the Bill, as soon as handed, will sweep away a collection of planning restrictions that may kickstart housebuilding within the second half of this Parliament.
Pennycook additionally revoked green belt restrictions for local planners which have stood for greater than a decade in a bid to spice up growth, a dedication set out by Labour in its election manifesto final June.
He mentioned: “While it’s the position of strategic policy-making authorities to resolve to evaluate green belt boundaries the place they’re unable to satisfy growth wants, I’m revoking the letter issued in March 2014 by the then minister Nick Boles.
“This is to make sure that planning inspectors can totally play their half in serving to to present local plans the perfect probability of being discovered sound.
“This gives planning inspectors, the place essential, with the choice to advocate as a part of the examination {that a} green belt evaluate is undertaken to think about whether or not extra websites may very well be recognized, in step with nationwide coverage, to satisfy growth wants.”
In that 2014 instruction to planning inspectors, coalition housing minister Nick Boles mentioned his administration was “reaffirming green belt safety, noting that unmet housing want is unlikely to outweigh hurt to the green belt”.
Last month, complete development output was estimated to have grown by 0.6% within the three months to July, in response to the newest figures from the Office for National Statistics.
Private housing work noticed a slight improve from £3.36bn for June to £3.39bn for July. And complete housing work, together with public housing, noticed a reasonable improve from £3.77bn to £3.81bn.
