The government’s announcement of an overhaul of the planning system to “fix the foundations and grow the economy” has received widespread support from across the industry.

The review of the greenbelt will identify ‘grey belt’ land and meet local housing needs, with ‘golden rules’ driving 50% delivery of affordable homes.

The new system will ensure every area must have local housing plans - with government ready to take the tough decisions to step in if areas fall off track.

Simon McWhirter, Deputy Chief Executive of the UK Green Building Council, said: “Planning reform is a tightrope and Angela Rayner clearly appreciates that. A clear win would be to turn the tens of thousands of empty houses and buildings that blight high streets and neighbourhoods into affordable homes.

“No-one wants to see unchecked urban sprawl, so the new ‘grey-belt’ designation must be properly defined and should be primarily limited to nationally strategic sites. Exceptions for small scale affordable housing already exist for communities in green belt areas.

“To avoid a nationwide backlash, people will need to feel the benefit from new homes and clean energy infrastructure. The Government understands this means a much higher proportion of genuinely affordable, high-quality housing with excellent access to public services, public transport and green spaces. A neat solution already has momentum and was backed by Labour in Opposition – legally wedding the planning system to the Climate Change Act so every planning decision helps meet, not scupper, the UK’s climate and nature restoration goals. 

“A revitalised National Policy Planning Framework is a chance to quickly pivot planning policy towards the well-considered, coordinated and holistic system we need to bring climate emissions under control and halt the collapse of nature. We’ll be convening experts from across the built environment sector to help the Government get this right.”

Daniel Paterson, Director of Policy Make UK Modular said the changes will help deliver more truly affordable homes across the country.

“The reintroduction and strengthening of housing targets and the firming-up of rules around green belt land is both overdue and necessary,” he continued.

"Yet even with the creditable changes being proposed today, the UK will need to use every available tool in its box, including manufactured building techniques, to build sufficient truly affordable homes at the pace our nation so badly needs.

“We need a growth in manufactured house building if we are to address the growing chasm in available construction skills, reverse the impact of a collapse in the number of SME builders, and ensure that the homes we build today will not need retrofitting tomorrow."

The Housing Forum welcomed the proposals and said a well-functioning planning system is key to delivering the homes we need. The Housing Forum has called for a number of reforms in our recent reports on the planning system and its Manifesto for Housing 2024 including: the restoration of housing targets with incentives for local authorities to meet them; support for local authorities to review their green belt land; and a higher proportion of social and affordable homes on green belt land.

Its recent report on reforming the Right to Buy also raised issues with the size of discounts on offer and the lack of flexibility for councils to use receipts to build more social homes.

Anna Clarke, Director of Policy and Affairs said: "It is encouraging to see more detail following on from Labour's pre-election pledge to reform the planning system and get Britain building. Setting an ambitious target of 370,000 homes, and working with councils to achieve this in their local areas, sets a clear direction from the top of government to those involved in delivering these homes.

“An emphasis on social and affordable housing is particularly welcome, and funding is really needed here, alongside trying to get as much as possible when building on greenbelt sites. While we suffer a shortage of homes of all tenures, a lack of social housing is having a particular impact, not least on the 105,000 households in temporary accommodation.

“We look forward to working with government to fleshing out these plans further in responding to the consultation on the NPPF, which we will respond to on behalf of Housing Forum members."

The Forum is also very pleased to see reports in the press that the Chancellor will lift funding for affordable housing, and introduce longer term rent settlements. Anna Clarke added: "This will be widely welcomed by housing associations and councils as security over their future income will enables them to plan, to borrow and to build new homes with confidence."

Gavin Smart, chief executive of Chartered Institute of Housing commented that the national housing crisis needs urgent attention and it is encouraging to see the government set out both a set of immediate measures and commit to a long term plan for housing, designed to ensure everyone has a decent, safe and affordable place to live.

“An effective planning system is an important element of housing delivery,” he said. “National housing targets will help to create clear expectations about delivery at the national and local level; what gets measured gets done.

“The strong focus on providing social rented homes is especially welcome, we urgently need to concentrate on providing more of these most affordable homes for people in the most acute housing need, greater flexibility and certainty in funding arrangements will help with this.

“Local authorities have the potential to be an important part of the mix and it is encouraging to see government move to support them to do more.

“Reviewing the operation and the impact of Right To Buy is long overdue and is a welcome development.”

Cllr Claire Holland, Housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association said the Government has laid out some positive first steps on affordable housing.

“Consultation on the Right to Buy scheme is positive news for councils who have seen their stock significantly diminish under the scheme and we look forward to working with government on its ongoing review,” Cllr Holland continued. “Local government stands ready to work with national government on their detailed delivery plans to ensure practical solutions to these long-standing problems are found.

“While national government can provide useful guidance, it is local councils and communities who know their areas best, so changes to national planning policy should be suitably flexible to allow authorities to make judgement decisions on managing competing demands for uses in their local areas. We will look carefully at the changes proposed to planning policy and housing targets.

“In order to deliver more housing, councils need the proper levers to deliver proposals that genuinely support a faster build-out of schemes. This includes urgently introducing a ‘stalled sites’ council tax premium, as well as a streamlined compulsory purchase process to acquire stalled sites or sites where developers do not build out to agreed rates. Action is also needed to ensure viability assessments are fair.”

The roll-out of five-year local housing deals by 2025 would lead to 200,000 additional social homes being built over the span of 30 years, a new report by the Local Government Association says.

Cllr Holland said: “Over the last 30 years, growth in the housing stock has stagnated and the number of housing completions is failing to keep up with demand. The only way to solve this country’s housing crisis is by giving councils the powers and resources to build more of the genuinely affordable homes our communities desperately need.

“Councils know their areas best and need the autonomy and funding certainty to be able to deliver long-term plans for housebuilding in their local areas.

“Five-year local housing deals are crucial to give local areas the powers to build more affordable, good quality homes at scale, quickly, where they are needed.”