Responding to a report by the Housing, Communities and Local
Government Committee, which says it is difficult to see how the
government target of 300,000 new homes a year in England by the
mid-2020s will be achieved if mandatory local housing targets are
dropped, Cllr , housing spokesperson for
the Local Government Association, said:
“Councils are committed to working with government and developers
to build the housing the country needs, with land for more than
2.6 million homes allocated in Local Plans and nine in 10
planning applications being approved
“As this report highlights, local council planning departments
face significant challenges in recruitment and retention and we
need a comprehensive planning skills strategy to address this,
which should be urgently brought forward.
“We also have significant concerns that the proposed
Infrastructure Levy will result in fewer, not more, affordable
homes delivered, will expose councils to excessive levels of
financial risks, and be increasingly burdensome and complex for
local authorities to implement and manage.
“National, top-down algorithms and formulas can never be a
substitute for local knowledge and decision-making by those who
know their areas best. We have been clear that councils and
communities are best placed to decide how to build the right
homes in the right places in their local areas, with the right
infrastructure.”
