Changes to Local Targets
Firstly, there will be an overhaul of how Labour housing targets are calculated, including scrapping the target 35% uplift for the largest 20 urban areas as introduced by the Tories. For example, the annual quota for new homes in London will now decrease from 99,000 to 80,000. The new formula for calculating housing targets will be based less on household projections and more on existing housing stock, adjusted by affordability criteria. Meanwhile, quotas for 65 other areas across the country will more than double under new planning guidelines, with a particular focus on northern England and rural Conservative heartlands.
Affordable New Homes
During her announcement to the House of Commons, Deputy Prime Minister Rayner stated that "where land in the green belt is developed, new golden rules will require the provision of 50% affordable housing." In essence, this means that at least half of the new homes constructed on green belt land under the new Labour government will have to meet their standards of affordability.
Rayner also promised more flexibility in the current affordable homes program and confirmed that details of future government investment in social and affordable housing will be revealed at the next spending review. This is expected to support the largest increase in affordable housebuilding in a generation, ensuring that a large portion of new homes constructed across the UK meet the demand for affordability.
Amending Planning Reform
Labour aims to boost housing production by reforming the planning system to remove barriers to construction. This includes giving metro mayors the power to carry out strategic planning across local authority boundaries to better plan for economic growth. Homebuilders will also be able to bring forward proposals on grey belt land where local authorities do not have up-to-date plans or fail to meet local Labour housing targets.
One major change to planning reform is that councils will be stripped of their ability to resist developments based on character objections. Under Labour’s plans, councils will not be able to deny the construction of new homes on the basis that they are not ‘beautiful’. At present, “all new developments must meet local standards of beauty, quality and design” - however, Rayner’s announcement seeks to reverse this necessity. Although the government has still stated that they “will build homes at scale, and they will be beautiful”, they have also made clear that aesthetics should not be a viable block to the construction of new homes across the UK.