Labour has already put into motion sweeping planning reform changes as it commits to building more affordable homes. Ben Standing, Partner specialising in planning at UK and Ireland law firm Browne Jacobson LLP, examines how much of a difference these will make
One-and-a-half million is a large number in most situations, but as a target for new housing over the next five years, it’s hugely ambitious.
To put this into context, 190,000 new units were delivered on average over the past two decades, with a peak of 243,000 units in 2019/20.
Rather than increase the proportion of units made available for affordable home ownership and social rent, which currently account for about half of all new housing, the new government wants to meet escalating demand and lower costs by increasing the total annual supply to 300,000 homes.
Planning reform holds the key
It has identified an overhaul of the planning system as the best route to achieving targets. The 230,000 homes approved by planners in the 12 months to June 2024 represented a 10-year low, indicating the system isn’t working as intended.
Proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) for England were published in a consultation that ended in late September 2024.
Headline changes include the reintroduction of mandatory housing targets. The new wording states that local planning authorities must meet the identified housing need in their areas rather than “as much as possible”.
New calculations of how a Local Planning Authority (LPA) meets housing needs, including the proportion of stock made affordable, are proposed to better reflect growth in the North of England and the Midlands.
A definition of the so-called “grey belt” is also introduced to help LPAs identify land beyond brownfield sites, which should be prioritised for housing. The grey belt comprises previously-developed land and any other parcels of the green belt that “make a limited contribution” to the purpose of protecting such land.
However, if there is not sufficient brownfield and grey belt land, the guidance suggests that an LPA may need to release green belt land for development.
More planning resource needed
Planning reform will only succeed if it goes hand in hand with a drive to adequately resource planning authorities.
Many local planning authorities lack the necessary people and skills to consider the merits of large, complex developments featuring a wide range of planning and legal issues.
Insufficient funding for councils over a prolonged period – a very direct impact of the austerity measures ten years ago – has led to a skills shortage. While the government has committed to recruiting 300 planning officers, this works out to less than one new officer for every local planning authority.
There’s even an argument to suggest that the existing system, without any of the changes proposed by the government, would work much better if councils were equipped with sufficient resources. Without this, our developer clients say navigating the system becomes an arduous task that costs time and expense.
Therefore, a revision of the NPPF requires a coordinated and funded strategy to help LPAs recruit additional officers and provide necessary training to existing staff. A central resource of specific skills could also support councils on the most complex planning applications.
New human resource would also enable the ongoing development of local plans, which set out long-term housing strategies in each area and which are a key tool in achieving an effective planning system.
According to the government, only a third of councils have a local plan that’s under five years old. This means that not only are the majority out of date, but they’re also at risk of being torn up again during short political cycles.
A revised “test for soundness”, an aborted reform proposed by Boris Johnson’s government in 2020 that increases the standardisation of key evidence and data, would streamline evidence required to develop a plan and defend it at examination, while still ensuring the delivery of high-quality plans.
Bringing communities on board with new developments
Soft skills are the third ingredient to success in “getting Britain building again,” alongside legal changes and dedicated planning expertise.
Too often, an adversarial approach that pits developers against communities will manifest, resulting in accusations of “Nimbyism” in local areas. However, there are too many instances in which residents feel new developments are being imposed against their will.
In a Net Zero and Local Democracy report published by the Local Government Information Unit and Browne Jacobson, we found that the risk of successfully challenging new environmental measures is greater if local residents feel they haven’t been listened to, and the same is true with housing.
Therefore, it’s crucial that planning reform at the national level doesn’t ostracise local areas. Instead, the government should work with councils and developers to develop the framework for an engagement strategy that can be used at the local level; recognising communities’ support will go some way to realising the success of new housing developments.
Encouraging developers and local authorities to collaborate with residents on proactively creating local benefits such as better roads, amenities, and parks when new developments are proposed—rather than simply mitigating against problems created—would help achieve national housebuilding targets.
