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Labour increases housing targets

August 14, 2024

Land Director Katherine Gray looks at the latest proposals to overhaul the planning system.

Following promises for reforms improving housing availability, The Government has announced in a press release that they will overhaul the planning system to ‘get Britain building again’. The press release detailed various ways that action could be taken, including building on brownfield land, the grey belt*, and denser urban areas. If successful, such action would help to reduce future building on the green belt.

What are the proposals?
The scale of development for our country could be expansive. This useful map and table, created by an independent source, gives an idea of the bigger picture and the local implications of the proposed amendments.

Some of the key objectives of the overhaul are to;
• Improve the deliverability of affordable homes to 50%
• Increase access to green space
• Ensure developments are supported by infrastructure (i.e. schools and doctor’s surgeries)

Can the councils meet the proposed new home targets?

Whereas the local proposals, if carried out, could boost the economy, increase housing availability, and maintain standards of living, the question is, how many homes will each local authority be required to deliver? For example, The Government states that Hart District Council’s “current delivery target is 297 homes each year, while the proposal is to raise this to 734 each year“. In addition, Rushmoor Borough Council’s delivery target would rise from 265 new homes to 606, and Waverley Borough Council’s target would rise from 710 to 1,374.

When will the proposed action begin?
As yet, the amendments are not set in stone. With Government Consultation open for comments on the proposed reforms until 24th September, it is still possible to share your views and perhaps influence the outcome.

We’ll be watching out for future updates, so if you’d like us to keep you in the loop, feel free to subscribe to our e-newsletter, here.

 

 

 

 

 

*Grey belt land is poorer quality, unattractive land on parts of the green belt.
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