The property industry has backed Labour’s plans to consider designating large-scale housing as national infrastructure.
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls today published for consultation a draft remit for a new National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) which sets out 10 National Infrastructure Goals, one of which is to “ensure that the enabling infrastructure is in place to support rapid housing development and that housing investment is integrated with investment in transport and utilities.”
He announced that a Labour government would introduce legislation to set up an independent NIC, as was proposed by the Armitt Review of Infrastructure in 2012, in the first Queen’s Speech after the election.
The British Property Federation (BPF) has consistently lobbied government to include residential into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Plan (NSIP) regime, repeatedly pointing out that the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) advocates mixed-use development, and that sustainable communities need to include a mix of both commercial and residential units. Including a provision for residential in the NSIP regime could help unlock significant amounts of much-needed housing development.
Melanie Leech, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said: “We are delighted to see that Labour would like to see housing recognised as nationally significant infrastructure.
"If we are to deliver housing at scale at the same time as creating commercial hubs that will drive economic growth, we need to encourage the development of well-connected, mixed-use communities where people can both live and work. Including residential within the NSIP process would be a significant step forward in this respect, and we hope that whoever is in power after the next election takes this forward.”
