Responding to the announcement of a Planning Bill in the Queen’s
Speech, Cllr David Renard, Local Government Association planning
spokesperson, said:
“Councils want to work with government to reform and
strengthen our planning system, ensuring it is locally-led, and
that communities are able to shape their local areas, have their
say on new developments in their neighbourhoods, and see they are
supported by the right infrastructure. We also back measures to
enhance public participation through a more digital
service.
“However the evidence shows that planning is not the
barrier to house-building. Councils are granting permission for 9
in 10 planning applications while over 1.1 million homes given
planning permission in the past decade are yet to be built. Local
plans are also not holding up the building of new housing, with
more than a million homes on land earmarked for development by
councils yet to be brought forward by developers for planning
permission.
“This is why councils need powers to incentivise developers
to get building where houses are needed, and ensure there is a
mix of homes – to rent and buy – that are available and
affordable to people that need them.
“To tackle the housing crisis, reduce homelessness and meet
the Government’s target of building 300,000 new homes a year,
councils also need to be given the powers to get building homes
not seen on a scale since the 1970s when they built over 40 per
cent of new housing. This is backed by Parliamentarians with
eight in 10 MPs (80 per cent) we surveyed saying councils should
have more financial freedoms and powers to build homes in their
area.”
