Will Labour’s planning reforms work?

Labour have placed planning reforms at the heart of their mission to drive economic growth, pledging to get Britain building.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly promised his government will be “builders, not blockers”.

The new Planning and Infrastructure Bill, announced on Wednesday, will “turbocharge building of houses and infrastructure”, the government said.

But experts have warned that despite the proposed changes, it will be “extremely easy” to derail housebuilding, if not infrastructure, through local planning objections.

Government statistics suggest the current system for approving new homes is in a quagmire.

Local planning authorities meet deadlines for minor applications in only 10% of cases, and only 1% handle major applications within the legal 13-week time limit.

Labour campaigned on a pledge to build 1.5 million homes in five years by streamlining planning and fast-tracking major infrastructure projects.

So will the government’s proposed reforms work?

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill promises to provide more resources to hire the 300 new planners Labour has said will help speed up approvals for new homes.

Local communities will be able to determine only “how, not if” homes and infrastructure are built, the government says.

The legislation also aims to simplify the process for granting consent to major infrastructure projects – such as hospitals and electricity pylons – needed to supply vital services to new housing.

The BBC understands that more schemes will be labelled Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, granting final approval to the housing secretary rather than local councils.

Labour’s English Devolution Bill will also give the mostly Labour, metro mayors new powers to create Local Growth Plans. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has previously promised these will help mayors “deliver local economic growth with better housing”.

Sweeping changes to the National Planning Policy Framework, the guidelines which govern the house planning system, are expected later this month.

The changes are expected to set out details of Labour’s long-trailed plan to allow councils to approve housebuilding in poor quality areas in the green belt – known as the “grey belt”.

Proposals to stop locals and councils blocking new homes, allowing them input only on the style of the buildings, were floated in the media ahead of the King’s Speech.

Even with these changes the new system is “pretty similar to the system we have now”, Ant Breach from the Centre for Cities think tank told the BBC.

The changes “makes sense if you’re trying to make the current system as efficient as it can be,” Mr Breach says.

Despite restrictions on planning opposition, it will be “extremely easy to go to court and throw a wrench into the entire process”, he warns.

Achieving higher levels of housebuilding will force the government to “constantly be picking battles”, Mr Breach adds.

If the government wants to consistently deliver on its plan for an average of 300,000 homes a year, “this must be the first step in a series of planning reforms”, he says.

Centre for Cities advocates a zoning-based planning system in the UK – similar to those used in other developed countries – allowing projects presumptive permission if they comply with local regulations.

Even with planning reforms, a shortage of supplies, builders and planners may “ultimately slow all this down”, warns Jonathan Werran, Chief Executive of the devolution focussed think-tank Localis.

Mr Werran argues Labour’s commanding majority in the Commons and its extensive control over local councils present a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to push through planning reform to delivery”.

“But do we have enough construction workers to achieve this? Unlikely.

“There are supply chain bottlenecks that may ultimately slow this down and it takes time to train a planning officer and ensure they have the expertise,” he says.

Although the proposals have largely been welcomed, early signs of rebellion from local authorities are emerging.

“Above all, reform must be done in partnership with councils, rather than to them,” warned Tim Oliver, Leader of Surrey County Council and Chairman of the County Councils Network.

“Whilst we await further details on housing targets in the imminent revised National Planning Policy Framework, housing must be fairly allocated across the country,” he said.

Cllr Claire Holland, housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said “councils want to work closely with the government to ensure new planning proposals deliver more high-quality affordable homes where they are needed”.

But, she argued, it is councils which need “the proper levers” to deliver more housing at speed.

Environmental groups have also issued a warning.

Magnus Gallie, senior planner at Friends of the Earth, said “unlocking” the planning system “too much could undermine its overall purpose, which is to regulate land use for the public good while balancing competing priorities”.

“Labour must ensure that in ‘taking the brakes off’, it does not undermine the legitimate concerns of local communities and other stakeholders, which would invariably lead to more legal challenges and delays,” he added.