Transformations Beyond Landscapes: Builders Reconstructing More Than Geographical Terrains on World Town Planning Day
In the spirit of the World Town Planning Day 2024, taking place today, the planning industry has put forth a series of policy recommendations to help the UK government meet its ambitious target of 1.5 million new homes.
Local Planning Authorities
Faster, more strategic planning decisions are at the heart of these recommendations. The planning industry urges for reforms that enable quicker and more strategic decisions, with better-resourced local planning authorities to handle approvals promptly. This is aimed at reducing bottlenecks that have resulted in a significant decline in planning permission grants, such as the 55% fall in Q1 2025.
Reforms also aim to streamline the planning system to support smaller developers, who are critical for flexible, quicker housing delivery. Labour’s early reforms have targeted SME-focused funding, streamlined planning for mid-sized sites, and releasing public land to create a more level playing field for SMEs.
Infrastructure Readiness
Addressing land availability and infrastructure constraints is vital. Delays due to lack of infrastructure readiness hinder new developments, requiring integrated planning that links housing growth to transport, utilities, and other infrastructure improvements.
Aligning with the Green Industrial Strategy
The industry advocates for a green conversation, particularly around Green Belt and urban fringe sites close to transport hubs. This facilitates sustainable development while balancing environmental concerns. Public investment should support councils and Homes England to build at scale with sustainability goals in mind, integrating affordable and social housing with green initiatives.
Additional Crucial Measures
Tackling labour and skills shortages in construction is repeatedly cited as a critical barrier. Industry-wide efforts are needed to bolster workforce capacity. Depoliticising local opposition ('NIMBYism') to encourage housing projects is also highlighted as necessary for cultural change supporting housing delivery.
The Revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)
The single most important policy change that Lanpro's team suggests Labour must initiate is the publication of the revised NPPF. The subjective view that may be taken in the definition of 'grey belt' land and its application in the revised NPPF is a concern.
Government's Role
The government must address the issue of nutrient neutrality through policy reform and legislative changes to unblock the significant amount of new housing which has been stalled. The current Green Paper Invest 2035: the UK’s modern industrial strategy needs to be accelerated towards tangible outputs. The government is providing increased funding for registered providers and the public sector to increase delivery of genuinely affordable homes.
Looking Ahead
Without additional funding, decisions will continue to be delayed, stalling development, particularly the delivery of the 1.5 million homes required by the government. Aligning housing requirements and delivery with planned infrastructure provision is necessary. Lanpro is examining whether significant changes are necessary to meet the government’s new targets.
The focus of the event is on the function of planning and planners in delivering housing that meets the needs of communities and helps to create equitable, inclusive, and sustainable solutions. Flexibility is needed to extend timescales for funding awards under existing affordable home programs beyond March 2026. The delivery of the £500m 'top up' of affordable homes program for funding 5,000 new affordable homes is a priority.
In the context of the housing crisis, speeding up and streamlining processes, reforming delegation powers to local planning authorities, and providing additional funding to local planning authorities are considered important to expedite decision-making. Speeding up the delivery of infrastructure (transport, water, energy) is also crucial.
- To support the delivery of sustainable housing solutions, the planning industry suggests that the government should publish the revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to address the subjective view in the definition of 'grey belt' land.
- In the effort to reduce delays in housing development due to infrastructure readiness, integrated planning is advocated to link housing growth with transport, utilities, and other infrastructure improvements, especially within the Green Belt and urban fringe sites close to transport hubs.
