It is difficult to see how the Government will achieve its target
of 300,000 new homes per year by the mid-2020s in England if
mandatory local housing targets are dropped, says the cross-party
Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC)
Committee in a report published today (Friday).
The report, which examines the Government’s planning reform
proposals, finds that the Government has not provided sufficient
evidence to demonstrate how the policy of scrapping mandatory
local housing targets will directly lead to more housebuilding.
While the Government is on track to deliver 1 million new homes
over the course of this Parliament, it is not forecast to deliver
300,000 net new homes per year by the mid-2020s.
In December 2022, the Government announced proposals to move to
advisory rather than mandatory housing targets for local plans.
The LUHC Committee’s Reforms to national planning policy
report is critical of the stop-start reform on national
planning policy over several years, which it says has caused
uncertainty for local authorities and planners, delayed local
plans, and slowed new house building.
, Chair of the Levelling
Up, Housing and
Communities (LUHC) Committee, said: “We have a
national shortage of housing in England and there’s evidence the
Government’s latest shake-up of planning rules is already having
a damaging impact on efforts to increase the building of new
homes.
“People are facing rising housing costs. Housing affordability is
a major issue. For our economy and for communities across the
country, it’s crucial the Government takes urgent action to
encourage the building of more homes. Without urgent action, the
Government will fail achieve its national housing target of
building 300,000 net new homes per year by the mid-2020s.
“Planning consultants say annual housebuilding will go down to
around 150,000 a year under the Government’s proposed policy
reforms. The prospect of a major hit to the building of new homes
resulting from the Government’s planning rule changes is deeply
concerning, especially for people wanting to get on the housing
ladder, families eager to move home, and communities crying out
for affordable places to live.”
The report asserts the importance of ensuring affordable housing
forms a substantial proportion of the 300,000 new homes delivered
each year. The report calls on the Government to give greater
importance in planning for Social Rent homes and for the 300,000
objective to include a target for 90,000 Social Rent homes per
year.
The report highlights the significant resource challenges faced
by local council planning departments and criticises the
Government’s failure to set out a comprehensive resources and
skills strategy for the planning sector.
The standard method of calculating housing need is not fit for
purpose, the report finds. The report highlights that the
standard method is based on 2014-based housing projections, that
it focusses on housebuilding in areas where economic activity is
already high, and that it includes an arbitrary 35% uplift for
urban centres. The Committee calls on the Government to adopt a
revised standard method which take accounts of future local need,
encourages regeneration across the country, and applies fairly to
all local authorities.
ENDS
Editor’s Notes
- The report summary is on p3. A list
of the report’s conclusions and recommendations can be found on
p.36. A list of the public evidence sessions for this inquiry
(and links to the transcripts in each case) can be found on p.42
of the report.
