Labour challenges Conservative rebels to back "Use it or lose it" Planning Bill

Labour will today (Wednesday) introduce legislation in the House of Commons to protect local communities’ voices and speed up housebuilding, and challenge Conservative MPs to back it.

Labour’s Planning and Local Representation Bill will impose a time limit on planning applications to incentivise faster building completion alongside giving communities the right to fair hearing in planning applications.

In contrast, Conservative proposals announced in the Queen’s Speech are a Developers' Charter that will limit communities from engaging in individual planning decisions and wrench control from councils to developers.

Labour analysis of Electoral Commission figures show that the Conservative Party has accepted at least £16.75m from companies or individuals involved in the property industry since 2016, and £11m alone in Boris Johnson’s first year as Prime Minister.

The number of planning permissions granted by councils for new homes has more than doubled since 2010, with nine in 10 planning applications approved.

But research by the Conservative-led LGA found that fewer than half of planning applications granted in the previous decade have been built out, with 1.1 million homes granted permission yet to be built.

Steve Reed MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, said:

“The Conservatives plan to pay back developers by selling out communities. Residents will be gagged from objecting to inappropriate and oversized developments so developers can make vast profits at local people's expense.

“That's the opposite of the partnership between communities, councils and developers that is the bedrock of regeneration that works in everyone's interests.

“If the Government really wanted to build more homes, they'd encourage developers to build the million homes that already have planning permission but haven't been built.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

• Labour MP for Luton South Rachel Hopkins will present the Planning and Local Representation Bill to the House of Commons as a Ten Minute Rule Bill on Wednesday 14 July 2021. The Bill intends to:

o Impose a two-year time limit to incentivise the development of land with planning permission.

o Give communities the right to fair hearing in planning applications for communities, and the right to be consulted for at least 21 days for all forms of development;

o Give individuals the opportunity to appear before the relevant body carrying out examinations in relation to permitted development, which currently does not allow for objections from residents.

Background

• Under the proposed changes in the Planning for the Future White Paper the Government would greatly restrict and in many cases remove the rights of local councillors, local resident associations and local residents to object to new planning developments.
• The Governments plans to remove the voice of local communities and residents from the planning process has been extremely controversial and has been opposed by a wide range of groups ranging from the Conservative lead Local Government Association, to groups such as Civic Voice and the Town and Country Planning Association.
• A large number of Conservative MPs including Theresa May have opposed the Governments proposed plans to remove the voice of local residents and communities in the planning process.
• The recent MHCLG Select Committee made the recommendation that ‘‘All individuals must still be able to comment and influence upon all individual planning proposals.’’

• More than 1.1 million homes granted planning permission in England in the last decade are yet to be built, according to analysis by the Local Government Association

Source: Over 1.1 million homes with planning permission waiting to be built - new LGA analysis | Local Government Association

• Theresa May has criticised the government's proposed changes to the planning system for being "ill-conceived" and "mechanistic".The former prime minister said the use of a formula to assess housing need in England "does not guarantee a single extra home being built.” The Commons debated a motion from another Tory MP, asking ministers to think again about its reforms.

Source: Theresa May attacks 'ill-conceived' planning reforms - BBC News

• In his foreword to a pamphlet by policy exchange, Robert Jenrick wrote, “The time has come to speed up and simplify this country’s overly bureaucratic planning process.”

Source: Planning-Anew.pdf (policyexchange.org.uk)

• “The whole thing is beginning to crumble and the time has come to do what too many have for too long lacked the courage to do – tear it down and start again.”

Source: Boris Johnson Foreword for the MHCLG White paper: Planning for the Future, August 2020: page 6

• Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said local people would get a "meaningful say" at the start of the planning process, when local plans are drawn up, but will not be able to block new schemes after that.

Source: Boris Johnson defends 'long overdue' planning overhaul in England - BBC News

• Since 2016 the Conservative party has accepted at least £16.75m from companies or individuals involved in the property industry. A full table of donations can be found attached.

• A number of backbench Conservative MPs have signalled opposition to the measures, some calling for similar measures to those Labour is proposing.

Bob Seely MP remarks during Queen’s Speech Debate: 8 October

“The plan threatens to give our opponents throughout England a rallying cry of “Save local democracy from the Tories”. That is a very bad position for us to be in. The system is already weighted far too much in favour of developers.”

“As the excellent Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) said, we must introduce a “use it or lose it” system for land-banking, because 1 million land-banked properties is a scandal.”

Source: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2021-05-18/debates/166C2766-C6CC-4607-995A-7D1021DBA486/AffordableAndSafeHousingForAll#

Crispin Blunt MP remarks during Queen’s Speech Debate: 8 October

“There is also the issue of the noise around the developer connection with the Conservative party. The delivery of a developer-led system of house provision will haunt us in future if we do not address it.”

Source: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2021-05-18/debates/166C2766-C6CC-4607-995A-7D1021DBA486/AffordableAndSafeHousingForAll#

Theresa May MP remarks during House of Commons Housing and Planning Debate: 8 October

“We need to reform the planning system. We need to ensure that that planning system sees the right number of homes being built in the right places. But we will not do that by removing local democracy, cutting the number of affordable homes that are built and building over rural areas. Yet that is exactly what these reforms will lead to.”

Source: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2020-10-08/debates/2496DD54-7CE6-4393-B8E0-477A7084D8FD/PlanningAndHouseBuilding