National Planning Policy Framework — House of Commons, 2018-03-05
Topic: Housing
Sajid Javid (Conservative, Centre-right): With permission, Mr Speaker, I wish to make a statement on planning reforms that will help to get our country building and deliver the right homes, in the right places, of the right quality—it cannot happen soon enough. An entire generation are the victims of a housing crisis as prices and rents race ahead of supply. In 2017, the average house price in England was nearly eight times the average income, and families in their early 30s are half as likely as their parents to own their home. This does not just hold these people back—it holds our country back. For young people in this country, it is, frankly, disheartening, when they do not see that their hard work is being rewarded, and they see the dream of a home of their own, which is something our parents took for granted, remaining just that—a dream. In those circumstances, it is hard for people to feel that they have a stake in society, and we all lose out when that happens That is why this Government have taken action on all fronts to turn this situation around, and those efforts are starting to bear fruit. We inherited a situation in 2010 in which annual house building had fallen to its lowest level in peacetime. Since then, we have delivered more than 1 million homes, and last year saw an increase in housing supply in England of over 217,000 new homes. That is the biggest increase in annual housing supply in all but one of the past 30 years, with planning permissions on a high and set to boost these numbers even further We have helped hundreds of thousands of people on to the housing ladder through Help to Buy. We are working to encourage landlords to offer longer tenancies and promoting more homes for rent on a family-friendly basis, with three-year tenancies in our build-to-rent schemes. We are cracking down on rogue landlords and the abuse of leaseholds, and we are taking steps to make renting fairer and to tackle homelessness through earlier intervention. We have launched a new, more assertive national housing agency, Homes England. We have launched an independent review, led by my right hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Sir Oliver Letwin), into the gap between planning permissions granted and homes actually built. We are putting billions into the affordable homes programme, and we are delivering essential infrastructure through the new housing infrastructure fund We know, however, that there is still a lot more to do to deliver 300,000 homes a year in England by the middle of the next decade. Of course, planning is an important part of that journey, and today we are taking the crucial next steps with the launch of consultations on the revised national planning policy framework and on the reform of developer contributions. These are measures that set out a bold, comprehensive approach for building more homes, more quickly, in the places where people actually want to live—homes that are high quality and well designed that people are proud to live in and proud to live next door to and that are at the heart of strong, thriving communities. There will be much clearer expectations on local authorities and developers to deliver their commitment to unlock land, fulfil planning permissions, provide essential infrastructure, and turn those dreams of a decent, secure, affordable home into reality The revised NPPF implements around 80 reforms that we announced last year and retains an emphasis on development that is both sustainable and locally led, but it also involves a number of significant changes. For the first time, all local authorities will be expected to assess housing need using the same methodology—that is a big improvement on the current situation in which different councils calculate housing need in different ways, wasting time and taxpayers’ money. A standardised approach will establish a level playing field and give us a much clearer, more transparent understanding of the challenge we face. But perhaps one of the biggest shifts is a change in culture towards a focus on outcomes achieved—the number of homes delivered in an area—rather than on processes such as planning permissions. As it becomes easier to make plans more streamlined and strategic, this culture change will encourage local authorities to work together to meet their communities’ needs We are also confirming the important protections of neighbourhood plans—plans that are produced by local communities—which we introduced in December 2016 to guard against speculative applications. And we are going further, beyond the reforms we previously consulted on. We are giving local authorities the tools to make the most of existing developed land, with an even stronger drive for increasing density, particularly in areas where housing need is high. We will support those councils that wish to build upwards, but not at the expense of quality—high design standards that communities are happy to embrace will remain a priority The reforms also include more flexibility to develop brownfield land in the green belt to meet affordable housing need with no harm to the openness of the green belt. Even the mention of the words "green belt" may cause some concern, but let me assure right hon. and hon. Members that this is about building homes on sites that have previously been developed, not about compromising in any way existing protections that govern the green belt. Our green spaces are precious and deserve our protection, which is why the Government are also delivering today on our manifesto commitment to give stronger protection to ancient woodland, which demonstrates that we do not have to choose between improving the environment and delivering the homes we need—we can do both We are raising the bar across the board. We are protecting our natural world and making local authorities more ambitious and accountable so that places such as London no longer deliver far fewer homes than they need. In areas such as the capital, where demand and affordability are going in different directions, it is especially important that there should be less talk and more action—action that is more strategic and more realistic about housing need, with stronger leadership to bring people together across sectors and boundaries That said, the issue is not all about local government. Developers must also step up to help us to continue to close the gap between planning permissions granted and homes built. In doing so, it is vital that developers know what contributions they are expected to make towards affordable housing and essential infrastructure, and that local authorities can hold them to account. However, we all know of instances of developers making such promises but later claiming that they cannot afford them. In truth, the current complex and uncertain system of developer contributions makes it too easy for them to do just that, and it puts off new entrants to the market. That is not good enough, which is why we propose major reforms to developer contributions As part of our reforms, areas will be able to agree a five-year land supply position for a year, reducing the need for costly planning appeals involving speculative applications. I also recognise that swift and fair decisions are important at appeal, so I will shortly announce an end-to-end review of the planning appeal inquiries process with the aim of seeing what needs to be done to halve the time for an inquiry to conclude, while ensuring that the process remains fair There are other areas where we are considering pushing boundaries to really boost housing supply, including a new permitted development right for building upwards to provide new homes, and by finding more effective ways of supporting farmers to diversify and support the rural economy. The strong focus throughout is on making sure that we are exploring all avenues to meet everyone’s housing needs. That could mean implementing an exception site policy to help more people on to the housing ladder; giving older people a better choice of accommodation; promoting build to rent; or encouraging local policies for affordable homes that cater for essential workers such as our nurses and police By giving everyone—whether they are renting or buying, in the social or private sector—a stake in our housing market, we give everyone a stake in our society. That is why I encourage right hon. and hon. Members, and anyone who wants to see today’s generation enjoy the same opportunities as their parents, to get involved and contribute to the consultations that we have announced today. They will run until 10 May, and I look forward to announcing the implementation of the national planning policy framework in the summer I am confident that the bold and ambitious measures that we are proposing will have a huge impact not just on the number of homes built but, ultimately, on people’s prospects and our prospects as a country. They will ensure that local authorities or developers can no longer be in any doubt about where they stand, what is expected of them and what they must do to help to fix our broken housing market and deliver the homes that the people of this country need and deserve. I commend this statement to the House.