The Government has finally unveiled the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, introducing a number of measures that change some fundamental elements of how planning works.

Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), commented:

“The Labour Government is wasting no time in proving that their manifesto pledges on planning reform are real. Planning is a considerable barrier to growth and delivery, not just for housebuilders but for all construction projects, and it had a knock-on effect to the broader industry because clients spend so much of their budget on bureaucracy, not on project outcomes.”

The Government announced a series of reforms including:

• Compulsory purchase powers are simplified, and land purchased at ‘closer to existing use’ levels.
• Planning committee reforms to ensure smaller schemes are not disproportionately impacted by planning policies.
• Planning fees to be set locally in order to cover costs
• Strengthening of Development Corporations so that large scale development is easier to deliver
• Reintroduction of Strategic planning, known as spatial development strategies
• Nature restoration fund to remove some of the legal and time-consuming processes to meet environmental regulations
• A faster National Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) regime
• Grid reforms, for example to prioritise clean power connections and give energy discounts to those living near new infrastructure
• Reduce the legal challenges of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP)

Rico Wojtulewicz, NFB Head of Policy and Market Insight, added:

“We commend the Government for taking action on their promises of planning reform. For too long, pledges to prioritise SME and streamlining the planning system have been a running joke in the housebuilding industry.

While we believe the Planning and Infrastructure Bill could go further, we have been lobbying for many of the proposed reforms such as stronger compulsory powers, more effective development corporations, less planning committee interference on a defined site size, and spatial planning.

These reforms will improve land arrangement opportunities, provide competition and provide transparency on development costs. All while ensuring discretion is minimised rather than being central to decision making.”                 

However, the NFB have raised some concerns over the proposal for local planning department s to set their own fees, Rico Wojtulewicz warned:

“Planning fees have already risen twice in the last five years, with no service improvement. An ‘Ofsted for planning’ is essential and application fees should not rise when more than 10% of statutory determination periods are breached. Planning departments should not be able to set their own fees. Growth is impossible in an environment where inefficiency and unaccountability is subsidised.

While there is still progress to be made, the Planning and Infrastructure Bill demonstrates that planning reform is real and not just a campaign slogan.”