The government has made last minute changes to its planning Bill, as it looks to fast track new housing projects.
According to the FT the Prime Minister “has ordered a last-minute rewrite” The Planning and Infrastructure Bill – in a bid to boost growth and improve the public finances.
The length of the consultation is being reduced, uncooperative councils will lose their rights to make some decisions, and the impact and ability to raise legal disputes will be reduced.
Richard Beresford, chief executive of the National Federation of Builders, said: “Planning reform was never going to be a quick endeavour because our sclerotic, siloed system needs careful analysis to unpick and understand.
“The government should be commended on recognising this and taking a proactive approach to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill because it will be an integral piece of legislation in ensuring all projects can be delivered more quickly.”
Proposed amendments to Planning and Infrastructure Bill, include:
- Changes to ‘holding directions’, allowing ministers to intervene and potentially stop applications being refused by local councils
- Enabling non-water companies to build reservoirs, with all such developments being considered ‘nationally significant infrastructure projects’.
- Allowing Natural England to decline requests from local authorities to comment on nature-related planning applications. At present, it must reply to all requests, even ones that it believes are not relevant.
- Automatic extensions of the time for implementing planning permission where it is challenged in legal proceedings.
- Cutting back legal challenges for major infrastructure projects from three to one and slashing a year off the statutory pre-consultation period.
Rico Wojtulewicz, head of policy and market insight at the National Federation of Builders said: “Tweaks to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will help deliver the water and grid capacity that projects require to get planning permission.
“They will stop councils finding loopholes to avoid building homes. This is a clear indication that the government understands that ‘Build, baby, build’ is a mantra, not a slogan.”
The amendments need to be approved by parliament in a vote on Monday 20 October 2025. Once the Bill is approved by the House of Lords, it will go back to the Commons.
Ministers target it becoming law by early November 2025, meaning that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) will be able to consider the economic benefits that will come from it in time for the Autumn Budget.
Danny Pinder, director of policy (real estate), British Property Federation, said: “The government’s planning reforms to date have been necessary but not sufficient to get Britain building.
“The relentless focus on unblocking new development is welcome insofar as it seeks to give industry the confidence to invest in new homes, workspaces and places, as long as the plan-led system remains the core mechanism for delivering development.
“However, as of today, the biggest barriers to development delivery are significant viability challenges, delays caused by bottlenecks at the Building Safety Regulator, and an increasingly cautious position being adopted by investors due to the current economic climate. We need to see action on these by the Budget at the very latest.”