UK government planning reforms set housebuilding increase as top priority

Michael Pocock, planning law expert at Pinsent Masons, said: “Clearly, an ambition of this scale will require radical change in approach and a need for greater collaboration across both public and private sector as well as significant investment in infrastructure, both physical and digital.”

The targets have been set out in the recently published consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and other changes to the planning system in England.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published the paper, which includes planning reform and aims to deliver more housing across England. The consultation document states that “nowhere is more decisive reform needed more urgently than in our planning system”. 

William Hall, public policy expert at Pinsent Masons, said: “The new Labour government has put planning reform and housing delivery at the top of its priorities for the new administration. One key policy change is to make housing targets mandatory using a new standard method which places greater pressure on local authorities to deliver. The new standard method will include a greater emphasis on affordability.”

Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner also announced the intention to broaden the existing definition of brownfield land and to promote uplift in density in urban areas. Much talked about during the general election campaign, the consultation document provides further information about the proposed ‘grey belt’ – essentially land within green belt areas that the government is keen to exploit to drive its overarching housing targets. In particular, it wants to see development on land near stations and existing settlements prioritised.

Richard Ford, planning law expert at Pinsent Masons, said: “One of the most striking proposed reforms is the move towards a “technicolour green belt”, with different rules for brownfield green belt, the new 'grey' belt and the more traditional green belt. The detail around the changes is significant with a requirement for green belt to be reviewed if housing needs are not being met, a sequential approach to green belt release. Prioritising brownfield and grey belt and a viability led approach to the benefits that must be realised for grey belt to be released. Detailed analysis of the proposed changes will be in various opinion pieces in the coming weeks”.

The government plans to reinforce the need for local authorities to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply, reversing some of the changes that the last government brought in in December 2023 which permitted certain additional factors to be considered.

The government has also set out plans to establish a taskforce to examine locations for around 12 new towns over the next 12 months in what is a “welcome boost to the garden communities market”, said Ford.

Under the changes, local authorities would be expected to make all efforts to allocate land in line with the area’s housing needs, as per the standard method. Local authorities would need to be able to provide evidence that they have taken all possible steps to meet the housing need before a lower housing requirement will be considered. For instance, authorities would need to demonstrate methods such as optimising density, sharing need with neighbouring authorities, and reviewing green belt boundaries.

Iain Gilbey, planning and housing delivery expert at Pinsent Masons, said: “Whilst these headlines are to be welcomed, there will be a significant delay in the translation of national policy changes into practical delivery on the ground. Unless the government is prepared to contemplate wide scale and direct intervention in local plan making and local decision taking, then the planning system relies on better funding, and more resources for local government to move local plans and outline planning permissions through the detailed approval process before houses can actually be delivered. The nuts and bolts of actual delivery are missing from the current narrative and will need to be tackled head on if the rhetoric is to change delivery reality."

The government is seeking to swiftly implement these reforms with aims of bringing “stability and certainty” to the housebuilding sector.

The consultation closes at 11:45pm on 24 September.

Experts from Pinsent Masons and Landmark Chambers will discuss changes to the NPPF and their impact on development, including green belt development, at a webinar on 9 September. Register for more information.