Councils forced to build 1.5m houses by Rayner – but she is blasted by Tories for dropping ‘beauty’ requirement
NIMBY town halls that fail to build enough homes will be stripped of their planning powers, Angela Rayner warned today.
The Deputy PM declared that Whitehall will wrest control from councils that fail to implement new mandatory targets to deliver 1.5million houses over the next five years.
And under a new planning framework going to consultation today, swathes of green belt land deemed ugly and unnecessary for maintaining a thriving environment will be unlocked for development.
Labour’s fresh national planning policy framework will see a push on new homebuilding away from London and into the shires.
Every town hall will be forced to boost housing supply by a minimum of 0.8 per cent.
But areas where homes are particularly unaffordable will have to take on an additional 0.6 per cent development – meaning a higher burden will be placed on rich rural areas.
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Other factors including population size will also be considered by planning experts before a final target number for a local area is determined.
For London that figure will be 80,000, a drop on the previous aim of 100,000.
However, only 35,000 homes were built in the Capital last year.
The sweeping reforms reverse a decision by the Tories to scrap mandatory housebuilding targets and should eventually reduce the extortionate cost of buying a home.
Ms Rayner said: “Today marks a significant step to getting Britain building again.
“Our decisive reforms to the planning system correct the errors of the past and set us on our way to tackling the housing crisis, delivering 1.5 million homes for those who really need them.
“And something I am personally proud of, our new flexibilities for councils will boost the number of social and affordable homes, and give working families a better route to a secure home.”
Ms Rayner added: “We are ambitious, and what I say won’t be without controversy, but this is urgent because this Labour Government is not afraid to take on the tough choices needed to deliver for our country.”
Developers will have to ensure that at least 50 per cent of new builds on the green belt are affordable.
And a requirement to guarantee all developments are “beautiful” will be dropped, with ministers arguing the rule is too subjective and causes delays in applications being approved.
The Deputy PM will also consult on new measures to boost social housing supply, including a full review of the Right to Buy scheme.
Kemi Badenoch today blasted Labour for dropping the “beauty” requirement for new houses.
She accused the government of kick-starting an “ugly” building revolution.
Ms Badenoch said: “Now Ms Rayner is telling us that she is going to be replacing what they want with a requirement to meet 1.5 million ugly houses instead.
“Why on earth would they take out something which means so much to local communities?
“People deserve to live in beautiful homes and the fact that the Labour Party doesn’t care about that shows exactly how they are going to develop their policies.”
Responding to the housing overhaul, Muyiwa Oki, President of the Royal Institute of British Architects, said: “Well thought through and fundamental reforms to our broken, backlogged planning system are to be welcomed.
“For too long, the system has been a barrier to quality development and contributed to our national housing shortfall.
“Much greater emphasis needs to be placed on design quality because, fundamentally, a poorly-designed, unattractive, unsustainable home serves nobody, not least future generations.
“A shake-up of our decrepit planning system will be vital to our housebuilding revolution.”