How many new houses are coming to YOUR town? Use our interactive finder as Labour plans a bulldozer blitz on Green Belt, relaxed planning laws and and block on ‘Nimbys’_Nhy
Councils are braced for brutal housebuilding targets today as Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner vow to rip up the ‘broken’ planning system.
The changes – designed to prevent so-called ‘Nimbys’ blocking development – could see hundreds of thousands of acres of Green Belt land redesignated as low-value ‘grey belt’ land.
As the government scrambles to generate 1.5million new homes by the next election, the new framework will also impose mandatory housing numbers on local authorities across the country – many of which have already been condemned as unachievable.
The government released estimates of the targets for local areas in the summer, which were updated today. The numbers for London and the South East have been increased after more weight was put on local ‘affordability’ in the formula.
The projections included comparisons to existing targets under the current method, first introduced in 2018, as well as the average number of new homes that have actually been built in recent years.
In Fareham, Labour‘s new method would require the local Tory-controlled council to build 800 new houses – up from a target of 498 when calculated by the current method.
That was nearly seven times the average number of new homes built in the Hampshire town – where Tory ex-home secretary Suella Braverman is the local MP – in 2020/21 and 2022/23 of just 115.
Keir Starmer said he would prioritise ‘human beings wanting to have a house’ as he joined his deputy Angela Rayner unveiling a radical overhaul of the rules
Angela Rayner and Keir Starmer (pictured at a building site in Cambridgeshire today) are unveiling the planning changes
The PM and his deputy toured the building project as they highlighted the development drive
The PM said he would prioritise ‘human beings wanting to have a house’ over the environment.
Asked on a visit to a construction site in Cambridgeshire this morning whether he would tackle the problem of habitat and environmental regulations stopping developers, Sir Keir said: ‘The starting point is local plans, and that’s really important for councils to develop the plan according to the target, taking into account local need and working with developers.
‘But are we going to push it through if those plans don’t work? Yes we absolutely are.
‘Are we going to push away the planning rules and make them clearer, as we have done today, get away the blockers that are stopping the houses being built? Yes, we are absolutely intent.
‘For years, we have had not enough houses being built. That means that individuals and families don’t have the security that they want.
‘We are determined to break through that, to do what’s necessary.
‘Of course we want to get the balance right with nature and the environment, but if it comes to a human being wanting to have a house for them and their family, that has to be the top priority.’
But shadow housing minister Kevin Hollinrake said that Labour’s housing plans would amount to ‘bulldozing’ green belt sites.
He told Sky News: ‘We’re not against building more homes. So we agree with those parts of the plan. What we disagree with is bulldozing greenfield, green belt sites. That’s what we’ll see. We’ll see many of these homes delivered in rural areas, yet a lowering of targets in urban areas, particularly London.’
The government plans would see 370,000 homes built every year for the rest of the Parliament.
Portsmouth City Council has been told to add 1,021 under the new target, up from 897 using the current method.
Just 120 new homes have actually been built there, on average, in recent years.
North Yorkshire is being ordered to build 4,077 new homes, slightly down from the 4,232 pencilled in in July.
But it is up from the 1,361 homes under the previous target. An average of 3,150 new homes were built annually across 2020/21 and 2022/23.
Cornwall must build 4,421 homes under Labour’s target, up from 2,707 using the old method and more than the 2,650 homes built, on average, in recent years.
The Isle of Wight has been told to build more than double the average annual number of new homes it achieved in those two years (370) under a proposed new target of 1,062.
Overall, the South East is required to build 70,681 new homes a year under the new method for determining housing targets.
This was up from 51,251 under the previous method. Only London has a higher goal at 87,992 – compared to the 80,693 Labour had initially suggested. The capital has been generating just 35,000 homes a year recently.
It was higher than the East of England (45,429), South West (39,992), North West (34,678), West Midlands (29,940), East Midlands (25,764), Yorkshire and The Humber (24,957), and North East (10,976).
One expert claimed the Green Belt overhaul could free up space for 2.5 million homes.
That sparked warning that the changes will trigger a new wave of ‘urban sprawl’ – which the designation was meant to avoid.
The Deputy PM revealed the collective total for local targets would be just over 370,000 homes a year – as she bids to deliver 1.5million new homes over the next five years
The move reverses the last Tory government’s decision to drop targets after deciding they were counterproductive.
Councillors on planning committees will be stripped of the right to block individual developments if they conform to planning guidelines.
Ministers will also gain new powers to bypass the normal planning process on key infrastructure – such as prisons and the electricity pylons that link new wind and solar farms to the grid.
Today’s package will provide £100 million to councils to help them update their plans and assess which areas of their local green belt should be released for development.
Ahead of the announcement, Ms Rayner said the reforms were needed to boost growth and hit Labour’s target of building 1.5 million new homes over the next five years, and that ministers were ready to ‘do what it takes’ to fix the housing crisis.
