Minister of State for Housing, Rt Hon MP has
urged councils to update their Local Plans to ensure the country
gets on with building the homes it needs and in the right places.
The Planning for the future
white paper consultation published last year set out
proposals to deliver a significantly simpler, faster and more
predictable planning system. Councils should consider that an
up-to-date plan will put them in the best possible position to
deliver the homes we need.
Nine in ten local planning authorities have now adopted a Local
Plan, but we know many of them are not being kept up-to-date. In
March 2020, the government set a deadline of December 2023 for
all councils to have up-to-date Local Plans in place.
Minister of State for Housing, Rt Hon MP said:
Despite the significant challenges caused by the pandemic, I
know the majority of councils are doing all they can to build
much-needed homes across England.
I would like to thank them for the important work they do to
deliver the homes, jobs and supporting infrastructure that make
such a difference to their local communities.
However, a number of councils are not keeping plans up to date
and I urge them to avoid any unnecessary delays and maintain
progress on plan making.
Local Plans not only unlock land for development and ensure the
right number of new homes are being built in the right places,
they also provide local communities with an opportunity to have
their say on how their local areas will change.
It is critical work should continue to advance Local Plans
through to adoption by the end of 2023 to help ensure that the
economy can rebound strongly from the COVID-19 pandemic.
This written ministerial
statement only covers England.
Nine in ten local planning authorities have now adopted a Local
Plan. MHCLG are committed to working with the remaining 10% to
get a plan in place as soon as possible, and across the board it
is essential that plans are kept up to date.
In March 2020, the government set a deadline of December 2023 for
all authorities to have up-to-date Local Plans in place. It is
critical that work should continue to progress Local Plans
through to adoption by the end of 2023 to help ensure that the
economy can rebound strongly from the COVID-19 emergency.
To support this, MHLGC rolled forward temporary changes that we
made over the summer to ensure the planning system continues to
operate effectively during the pandemic. In addition, we recently
announced changes to the methodology for assessing Local Housing
Need and published the 2020 Housing Delivery Test measurement.
This should provide plan-makers with greater certainty over the
homes they should plan for and whether they need to take
additional measures to encourage delivery in their area.
The Housing Delivery Test measurement shows that the majority of
local planning authorities continue to deliver the number of
homes needed in their communities. However, 55 authorities
delivered less than three-quarters of their housing need, and are
therefore subject to the presumption in favour of sustainable
development. Of these, 40 have a Local Plan that is more than 5
years old. This clearly demonstrates the importance of having an
up to date Local Plan in place.
MHCLG also want to see Neighbourhood Plans continue to progress
with the support of local planning authorities, to give more
communities a greater role in shaping the development and growth
of their local areas.
