Labour has announced further sweeping changes to England’s planning rules as ministers scramble to build a promised 1.5million new homes within five years.
Under what is claimed to be the most significant planning shake-up in more than a decade, ministers said thousands more homes will be built faster in every region.
The Government said its latest update to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) would make the planning system ‘clearer’ and ‘more predictable’.
The NPPF sets out how planning rules should be applied and the proposed changes follow previous measures introduced by Labour in December last year.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government promised the latest changes would bring ‘higher-density development’ and ‘simplified biodiversity rules’.
But the Tories claimed Labour was returning ‘garden-grabbing’ tactics and targeting green belt land due to a failure to build on brownfield sites.
There was also a backlash from wildlife groups over the weakening of biodiversity rules.
Here’s how Labour’s latest planning changes could impact your local area:
More homes near train stations in the green belt
The proposed changes to the NPPF include default approvals for homes around rail stations and high-rise developments in towns and cities.
Stations will be classified as well-connected based on the number of train services available and the economic performance of the area.
Development within a 15-minute walk of the station will then be permissible, even if it is within the green belt.
The only requirement will be a minimum density requirement of 50 dwellings per hectare.
Housing minister Matthew Pennycook said the default ‘yes’ approach will apply near stations ‘within existing settlements and around well-connected stations outside settlements’.
The same default ‘yes’ will apply to new homes building upwards in towns and cities.
Labour is also promising to make it easier for developers to build higher density housing, such as modern apartments and flats, on smaller sites and under-used land where appropriate
And ministers pledged to encourage a more diverse mix of housing, such as rural affordable homes and accessible homes for older people and those with disabilities.
They vowed preferential treatment for developments that strengthen local economies and provide new services, including shops, leisure facilities, and food production.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed said: ‘Right now we see a planning system that still isn’t working well enough.
‘A system saying ‘no’ more often than it says ‘yes’ and that favours obstructing instead of building.
‘It has real-world consequences for those aspiring to own a home of their own and those hoping to escape so-called temporary accommodation.
‘We owe it to the people of this country to do everything within our power to build the homes they deserve.’
A return to ‘garden-grabbing’?
In response to the NPPF changes, the Tories claimed Labour was returning to ‘garden-grabbing’ tactics – where new housing is built on existing residential gardens.
Ministers were accused of erasing planning protections introduced by the Coalition government, including the scrapping of a clause stating that local plans ‘should consider the case for setting out policies to resist inappropriate development of residential gardens’.
There are fears that Labour’s changes could prompt developers to buy up swathes of homes and squeeze more properties into the plots, including on former gardens.
Sir James Cleverly, the shadow housing secretary, said: ‘Rather than holding their urban mayors to account they are returning to John Prescott’s failed regime of garden-grabbing, with quiet suburban neighbourhoods facing the prospect of ugly apartment blocks being erected on their green spaces against their wishes.
‘In desperation at their own failure to build, Labour are now abandoning any pretense of caring about communities.’
‘Swift bricks’ in all new homes
All new homes in England will have to include ‘swift bricks’ to help protect endangered birds under Labour’s shake-up of planning rules.
The cavity bricks cost around £35 each and are installed in homes to provide vital nesting homes for migratory birds.
Swift populations in Britain are estimated to have slumped by 66 per cent between 1995 and 2022, which has been blamed on a decline in their traditional nesting sites.
There are fears there could be fewer than 25,000 breeding pairs left in five years’ time without action.
Swifts spend winters in sub-Saharan Africa but migrate north to Europe every summer where they often nest in buildings.
Modern insulation, particularly in roofs, has removed the crevices and cavities where birds have nested for centuries.
Under Labour’s plans, swift bricks will be treated as a requirement for new homes.
The new planning rules say: ‘New builds to include nature-friendly features, such as installing swift bricks, to support wildlife – adding little to building costs whilst delivering a win-win for nature and housebuilding.’
Gemma Cantelo, head of policy and advocacy for RSPB England, said: ‘The Government’s plans to include nature-friendly design features, like swift bricks, into new build homes must be mandatory and enforced.
‘Guidance that can be ignored is not enough. We need to make nature integral to building news homes, not an afterthought or a corner to be cut.
‘If nature-friendly building design is to become the norm, not just for wifts but for hedgehogs, bats and pollinators, we need firm rules, monitoring and enforcement.
‘And we need an end to the UK Government’s anti-nature rhetoric for good.’
A weakening of biodiversity rules
Conservationists warned about new exemptions from England ‘biodiversity net gain’ (BNG) rules.
They said this risked hollowing out the emerging market in which developers have to pay not only to replace habitat lost to development, but to deliver a 10 per cent gain for nature.
Labour has repeatedly targeted bats, newts, snails and other wildlife as it outlines measures to unblock the planning system in its scramble to build 1.5million new homes in England over five years.
Under BNG reforms unveiled on Tuesday as part of the planning changes, ministers proposed smaller developments under 0.2 hectares should be exempt from the rules, with additional targeted exemption for brownfield housing sites.
The Government also pledged to make it quicker, easier and cheaper to deliver BNG offsite to help medium-sized projects.
The Wildlife and Countryside Link (WCL) coalition of environment and nature groups warned that exempting so many small sites, which dominate England’s planning system, could wreck the policy.
Richard Benwell, WCL chief executive, said: ‘To meet its electoral promise of halting wildlife decline, Government should strengthen green economy rules, not shrink them.
‘Rapidly applying net gain to all major infrastructure and stopping developers dodging their environmental responsibilities should be clear priorities, not more carve outs.
‘So far, this has been a Parliament of delay and relentless deregulatory threats to nature.’
Beccy Speight, chief executive of the RSPB, said: ‘The decision to exempt sites under 0.2 hectares from BNG flies in the face of the UK Government’s promise to be ‘the most nature-positive government this nation has ever had’.
‘It’s a blow for nature, for local communities and for business confidence in the future of BNG.
‘BNG was designed as a win-win for nature and development, ensuring more wildlife and green spaces where people live.
‘By diluting this policy, failing to close existing loopholes and signalling its plans to consult on further exemptions, the Government has chosen developers’ profits over public health and wellbeing.
‘People in nature-poor towns and cities will suffer most, with clean water, healthy soils, and flood protection all at risk.
‘It also undermines fair competition for developers committed to doing the right thing.’
Responding to questions in the House of Commons on the planning reforms, Mr Pennycook rejected an accusation he is ‘pitting nature protection against house building’ from Green Party MP Ellie Chowns.
‘I have never and I will not pit development against the environment. This Government has sought a win-win for both,’ Mr Pennycook said.
