Govt introduces Planning & Infrastructure Bill
Reducing the size and workload of planning committees and strengthening development corporations are among the key features of Labour’s proposed reforms.
Trailed over the last few days, the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will be introduced to Parliament today, as the government looks to set a path to its much-heralded Plan for Change and desire to deliver 1.5m new homes.
The government said that by ensuring shovels can be put in the ground more quickly and projects are freed from unnecessary bureaucracy, these measures will help deliver a building boom that will deliver a major boost to the economy worth billions.
This Bill comes alongside wider planning reforms including the reworked National Planning Policy Framework.
Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Angela Rayner said:
“We’re creating the biggest building boom in a generation – as a major step forward in getting Britain building again and unleashing economic growth in every corner of the country, by lifting the bureaucratic burden which has been holding back developments for too long.
“The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will unleash seismic reforms to help builders get shovels in the ground quicker to build more homes, and the vital infrastructure we need to improve transport links and make Britain a clean energy superpower to protect billpayers.”
Key measures
Planning committees
Housebuilding will be backed by streamlining planning decisions through the introduction of a national scheme of delegation that will set out which types of applications should be determined by officers and which should go to committee. Committees themselves wil see headcount trimmed, with mandatory training for members implemented. Councils will also be empowered to set their own planning fees to allow them to cover their costs – with the stretched system currently running at a deficit of £362m per year.
Nature Restoration Fund
A Nature Restoration Fund will be established to “ensure there is a win-win for both the economy and nature” by ensuring builders can meet their environmental obligations faster and at a greater scale by pooling contributions to fund larger environmental interventions. These changes will remove time intensive and costly processes, with payments into the fund allowing building to proceed while wider action is taken to secure the environmental improvements we need.
Compulsory Purchase reform
Land needed to drive forward housing or major developments could also be bought more efficiently thanks to reforms to boost economic growth and drive forward local regeneration efforts. The CPO process – which allows land to be acquired for projects that are in the public interest – will be reformed. Labour said the reforms will ensure compensation paid to landowners is not excessive and the process of using directions to remove ‘hope value’ – the value attributed to the prospect of planning permission being granted for alternative development – where justified in the public interest is sped-up. Inspectors, councils or mayors where there are no objections, will take decisions instead of the Secretary of State.
Development Corporations
Development Corporations will be strengthened to make it easier to deliver large-scale development such as new towns and their associated infrastructure.
Strategic planning
The Bill will introduce a system of spatial development strategies, intended to help to boost growth by looking across multiple local planning authorities for the most sustainable areas to build and ensuring there is a clear join-up between development needs and infrastructure requirements. These plans – already in operation in one form or another in various locations, of course, with varying degrees of harmony – will be produced by mayors, or by local authorities in some cases.
Nationally significant infrastructure projects
Labour said the Bill will ensure a faster NSIP regime that delivers infrastructure projects faster, streamlining consultation requirements for projects such as windfarms, roads and railway lines. Changes will be made to the Highways Act and the Transport and Works Act to reduce bureaucracy. The government will further overhaul the process by which government decisions on major infrastructure projects can be challenged. “Meritless” cases will only have one – rather than three – attempts at legal challenge.
Clean energy
Further changes will make sure approved clean energy projects that help achieve clean power by 2030, including wind and solar power, are prioritised for grid connections.
Bill discounts
People living within 500 metres of new pylons across Britain will get money off their electricity bills up to £2,500 over 10 years, under these plans. Alongside money off bills, separate new guidance will set out how developers should ensure communities hosting transmission infrastructure can benefit, by funding projects like sports clubs, educational programmes, or leisure facilities.
Industry responses
Mark Reynolds, executive chair of Mace Group and co-chair of the Construction Leadership Council, said: “For too long the UK’s planning systems have inhibited growth, with layer upon layer of checks and balances stifling productivity, confidence, investment and jobs.
“These proposed changes show this government is listening to industry and taking reform seriously; recognising that new homes and infrastructure are necessary to inject life into the economy.
“Our construction industry is ready to meet the challenge, and the measures highlight how mindful growth can support communities and our net-zero ambitions.”
Neil Jefferson, chief executive of the Home Builders Federation, said: “The swift moves to address the failings in the planning system are a very welcome and positive step towards increasing housing supply.
“Removing blockages, speeding up the decision-making process and ensuring local planning departments have the capacity to process applications effectively will be essential to getting more sites up and running. If the other constraints currently preventing house builders delivering more homes can be tackled, the changes made to planning will really allow output to accelerate.
