On the day that a new Labour government takes office with a substantial majority, and a mandate for change, we share our thoughts on what this could mean for planning and development across the private and public sectors.
Keir Starmer has noted that the construction sector will be key to growing the wider economy under a Labour government. The Labour party’s 2024 manifesto included several key proposals aimed at addressing the UK’s housing crisis through the setting of ambitious delivery targets, broadening the range of land considered suitable for development and by overhauling the planning system, each of which is intended to drive growth in the development sector.
Reintroduction of housing targets and the stated ambition to build 1.5 million homes over the next 5 years
The newly formed Labour government is planning to make significant changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to address housing needs and unlock existing/new development sites. The new Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has pledged to update the NPPF within the first 100 days of a Labour administration, signalling a swift and decisive approach to planning reform. This is likely to have implications for the local plan process and may well open up challenges to the 5-year housing land supply figures which underpin site allocation selections.
Given the number of Local Plans which are considered out of date (over 75% by the end of 2025* ), the reintroduction of housing targets will present opportunities for more speculative planning applications to be submitted to fill the void between targets, consents and delivery.
Labour have promised to take tough action to ensure that planning authorities have up-to-date local plans. We expect there will be further opportunities for sites to be considered, including an emphasis on facilitating development on smaller plots, for inclusion within new or updated local plans with the potential to see local authorities calling for further sites rapidly to meet requirements in the short term.
New Towns
To achieve the ambitious target of 1.5 million homes during the next parliament, Labour is likely to incorporate policies in the NPPF that support the creation of new towns and large-scale housing developments. This approach, inspired by the legacy of the 1945 Labour government, could help address housing needs on a large scale whilst potentially alleviating pressure on existing urban areas.
This could be in the form of a modern day ‘New Towns Act (1946)’ which gave the government powers to designate areas of land for new town developments including Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage and Bracknell.
Redevelopment of low-quality green-belt land, referred to as ‘grey belt’, to bolster opportunities on brownfield sites
The new government acknowledges that green belt land will need to be released for development, however Labour’s approach indicates this will be balanced with environmental protection. The updated framework is likely to include provisions that ensure sustainable development practices and ecological safeguards.
One of the key strategies proposed by Labour is to demand that local councils undertake regular green belt reviews. This approach aims to identify suitable areas within the green belt that could be released for housing development whilst maintaining environmental protections. The new government plans to introduce a “strategic approach to green-belt release,” suggesting a more targeted method of utilising low grade neglected areas of green belt within wider green belt land, dubbed ‘grey belt’.
The full definition of grey belt is yet to be detailed, but it is likely that this will include wastelands, former car parks and left over spaces found on the edges of many major cities. While these may well have less constraints than brownfield sites, many of the sites coming forward within the grey belt are still likely to present challenges with ground conditions, accessibility, water management and biodiversity at the top of the list.
Labour’s suggested reforms of the compulsory purchase compensation rules should help with land assembly and provide a more direct route to delivery of amenities and infrastructure which could unlock land for delivery more economically, which may improve the viability of sites, particularly brownfield or grey belt. However, among the five golden rules for development, is a requirement that where land is released from green belt, it will be subject to strengthened planning obligations. This means it will need to deliver at least 50% affordable homes, improve access to green spaces and boost public services and infrastructure to ensure that new developments comprehensively benefit local communities, all of which will come at a cost.
Planning Reform
The new government’s manifesto includes a number of positive commitments to improve the planning system. The suggested hiring of 300 new planning officers (about 1 per planning authority) is recognition that resources within planning departments can be a constraint on development and is a step towards easing the pressure they are under.
Greater cross boundary strategic planning, and the requirement for all combined and mayoral authorities to strategically plan for housing, should smooth the way for development projects. However, PJA’s experience questions the viability of this in reality – our team in the west of England have seen multiple attempts at producing a joint strategic plan there fail – but the promise of greater planning powers for Combined Authorities could offer a better chance of success.
Promises to raise quality, sustainability and design standards to make exemplary development the norm will see authorities balancing the need for more housing with the calibre of the proposals, with a particular focus on environmental and ecological concerns.
Infrastructure
The new government is planning to merge the National Infrastructure Commission with the Infrastructure and Projects Authority into a single body (NISTA) to drive more effective delivery of major projects and infrastructure across the country. Combining these two bodies should streamline decision-making processes as they set strategic infrastructure priorities, redefine Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) to include laboratories, gigafactories and digital infrastructure, and accelerate building projects through updated compulsory purchase rules. The new organisation will be given new powers and an updated mandate to get Britain building again.
Labour plans to reinstate the 2030 phase-out of new petrol and diesel vehicles in the UK. As part of this, the deployment of public charging infrastructure will need to accelerate, with the government providing local authorities with better guidance on where to install charge points and how to utilise funding effectively. Places with constraints to development, like historic towns and cities, will need to think quickly but carefully about where charging points could be installed, how the infrastructure could be implemented and how it might impact on traffic flow.
Active Travel
The government’s manifesto highlights the importance of promoting walking and cycling, although a more detailed précis was notable by its absence. However, as active travel is intrinsically linked to broader policy goals such as improving public health, reducing air pollution and meeting net-zero targets, we expect to see more robust commitments emerging.
It is understood that Labour’s plans to enhance active travel infrastructure will be strongly linked to the devolution of powers and funding to local authorities, particularly to Combined and Mayoral Authorities, who will be given powers to “create unified and integrated transport systems allowing for more seamless journeys, and to promote active travel.” With much of the Labour controlled mayoral authorities having a Walking and Cycling Commissioner in post, this suggests that there will be broad support for intervention at the combined authority level.
The manifesto also commits to “maintain and renew our road network to ensure it serves drivers, cyclists and other road users”, which could suggest a more holistic approach to future highway investment, but also in terms of planned maintenance and the opportunity to embed LTN 1/20 compliant infrastructure as part of the renewals process.
Overall, while the manifesto’s specific commitments to active travel are limited, the emphasis on local empowerment and infrastructure investment suggests a positive direction of travel, and a move away from the recent car-centric policy of the previous government.
Nutrient neutrality, water and ecological concerns
The new Labour government is expected to implement solutions to nutrient neutrality without weakening environmental protections. Their support for the Nutrient Migration Scheme will see the funding doubled to £280 million, with the expectation that large developers will contribute to this. Natural England will continue to deliver the scheme, providing credits to mitigate nutrient pollution from new development.
With the Government’s new housing ambitions, it is expected they will emphasise the need for certainty and progress in unlocking development, but not at the cost of water scarcity or ecology, with careful consideration towards projects that do not mitigate impact within their designs. Blue Green Infrastructure in urban areas, such as rain gardens, green roofs and green walls, will be key to reducing surface water run-off and achieving nutrient neutrality.
Conclusion
Taken together, a focus on new towns, planning reforms, the reinstatement of housing targets, changes to compulsory purchase processes, more rigorous duties to cooperate and new central government planning powers ‘could’ open up opportunities to deliver highly sustainable new communities, built on the principles of transit-oriented development.
However, those who have been in the industry for any length of time will know that delivering planning reform is not straightforward, no matter how great your majority, particularly when the reforms include new powers which may allow central government to intervene in local planning decisions.
PJA’s interdisciplinary team are able to undertake due diligence reviews of land parcels and rapidly develop sector-specific strategies for emerging sites to inform vision documents or prospectuses to enable early engagement with local authorities and other key stakeholders.
We stand ready to support our clients in developing technically excellent, robust and compelling contributions towards planning, design, infrastructure, active travel, ground engineering, contaminated land, water and ecology with the skills and experience to follow our work through to determination and beyond.
Our intertwined specialisms of transport, placemaking and engineering coupled with significant experience in the development of proposals, mean we are well equipped to support land promoters, developers and the public sector. Get in touch.
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*Source: Timed Out? (lichfields.uk)
