Labour’s planning reforms have ‘given hope’ to housebuilders, says HBF chief

The government’s proposed changes to the NPPF have given housebuilders “hope”, according to the chief of the Home Builders Federation (HBF).

Reforms announced yesterday (Tuesday) by deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, including the reintroduction of mandatory housing targets, have been warmly welcomed across the built environment sector.

The new targets will be underpinned by a revised method of calculating housing need, which will see combined targets at the national level rise from 300,000 to 370,000.

Neil Jefferson, chief executive of the Home Builders Federation, called the proposed NPPF changes “the first and most important step ministers have taken in addressing the barriers to delivering new homes”.

“The scale of the government’s housing ambition has given hope to the house building industry that stands ready to increase supply and tackle the country’s housing shortage,” he added. 

“The planning system has long failed to provide the amount of land needed to address affordability pressures but in recent years the elimination of housing targets has led to housing supply plummeting. 

“A reformed, more progressive planning system that requires local authorities to meet their communities’ housing needs is a major step forward to address the barriers to delivery.”

Victoria Hills, chief executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute, said the proposed changes “have the potential to rebuild trust” in the planning system and said the emphasis on strategic planning was “particularly encouraging”.

Muyiwa Oki, president of the RIBA, said a “shake-up of our decrepit” planning system was vital and encouraged greater emphasis on design quality.

“Fundamentally, a poorly-designed, unattractive, unsustainable home serves nobody, not least future generations,” he said.

Justin Young, chief executive at the RICS, said: “Securing the homes the UK requires, needs more than one solution, and it is encouraging to see many of them addressed today.”

Labour’s plan also includes a requirement for local authorities to identify so-called grey belt land, a term used to describe poor quality land within the green belt, which will be brought forward for development if councils cannot meet housing need through brownfield development.

“We have been calling for a greenbelt review, and applaud the introduction of clear, golden rules for grey belt. The proposed system of brown, grey, then green, should protect community spaces and secure needed but not unnecessary development,” Young added.

Clare Miller, group chief executive at Clarion Housing Group, said planning reforms would be “a huge help” and could see the housing association accelerate its pipeline of 20,000 new homes, but asked for a long-term rent settlement.

“This would give housing associations the confidence and certainty we need to make ambitious build plans over the long-term and help the government to realise its vision of building much needed new social and affordable homes at scale,” she said. 

Melanie Leech, chief executive at the British Property Federation, praised the “ambitious” package of measures.

>> Read more: Rayner announces new target of 370,000 homes as she reveals plan for NPPF changes

“We need a multi-tenure approach to tackle the housing crisis which sees social housing, homes for sale, and Build to Rent all firing on all cylinders,” she said. 

“We are therefore particularly pleased to see that as part of the revised NPPF, Government will double down on encouraging and supporting all sectors to do their bit.” 

Paul Brocklehurst, chairman of the Land, Planning and Development Federation, described the proposals as a “the first giant stride in the long walk” to achieving the building of 1.5 million new homes. 

Mark Allan, chief executive at Landsec, said he was “particularly pleased to see the increased focus on brownfield land and the recognition of the role mixed use and commercial development plays in driving economic growth and housing delivery”.