The impact of the new government on housing and planning in the first 100 days

After much debate and campaigning, we now know that Labour will be forming the next government after winning the General Election. The promise was made that change will come within 100 days of Labour being elected. Let the countdown commence.

Labour has made a number of promises in relation to housing and the planning sector, covering everything from delivering 1.5 million homes over the next parliament and pledging to fund an additional 300 planning officers, to releasing lower-quality land from the greenbelt for housing and giving combined authorities more powers over planning.

The party has also promised to reform Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) rules to ensure landowners are awarded fair compensation rather than the uplifted development value which Labour say will make housebuilding easier and less expensive, and to develop an infrastructure strategy to ensure major projects are delivered faster.

But a lot of the promises contained in Labour’s manifesto lack detail on how they will be delivered. We expect that some of this detail may be forthcoming in the King’s Speech, currently scheduled for July 17. However, Labour has expressed clear intention to flex its political muscle if needed.

So how many of Labour’s promises will we actually see and when? Some of Labour’s proposals relate to updating existing planning policies and reversing others. This process is likely to take time and will require consultation. Consultation is key in making sure the system will work for all those involved.

The planning system is crying out for positive change. The current system is having catastrophic consequences on SMEs in particular who are struggling to deal with the cost and delay in the system.

Whilst the system needs work and improvement, the one single change that could help would be the proper resourcing of council planning and accompanying legal departments giving them the expertise and capacity to deal with applications.

The constant turnover of staff being lost to the private sector is hampering the speed and quality of decisions, so the proposed investment in case officer resource is a welcome one, albeit it will take time. To have impact, it will also be essential for this funding to be ring-fenced so that the investment is not used in other protected areas of the council.

What is clear is that the effectiveness of the planning system will be reflected in the number of new homes that can be built, so well-thought-out changes need to be made to ensure that these can be delivered to help alleviate the current housing crisis.

In-depth look at some of the promises made by Labour

Housing

Labour has promised to deliver 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament. To achieve this target, they have proposed measures which include: restoring mandatory housing targets; ensuring Local Plans are up to date; reforming and strengthening the National Planning Policy Framework’s presumption in favour of sustainable development; and delivering a “new generation of new towns” which, alongside regeneration and urban extension projects, will form part of new communities.