Michael Gove will crack down on council planning departments whose delays are holding up house building. Photo: Aaron Chown/PA
Michael Gove will on Tuesday pledge to promote housing without “concreting the countryside”, saying councils won't have to build over the green belt to achieve the targets.
Mr Gove, minister housing development, will say City Hall will not need to set aside protected countryside to accommodate future population growth, as was suggested in previous guidelines.
He will also target council planning departments whose delays are holding up house building in their areas, and promised in a speech in central London to intervene if town halls do not act quickly enough.
A Department for Improvements, Housing and Communities source said: “We have been clear that the government is on the side of the builders, not the blockers – councils need to play their part and build the homes this country needs without burying the countryside in concrete.”
“The Housing Secretary has already told councils they need to step up their efforts and we are giving them a lot of support to help them do this – so those who continue to drag their feet can look forward to government intervention.”
Mr Gove will make clear that there will be no review of existing green belt boundaries as part of the proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy. Currently, local authorities have to allocate land to meet expected future population growth, even if that land is in the green belt.
Mr Gove also said he would carry out a review to help increase the number of new homes in London. threatening to strip Sadiq Khan of planning powers if he did not agree, the Times reported.
He also said he had pledged to approve more than 150,000 homes around Cambridge and force local councils to increase competition by allocating development land to smaller developers, according to a newspaper interview.
The new rules will allow authorities to reduce the number of homes they build to ensure they do not encroach on protected lands.
They state: “By amending the chapter of the Framework on protecting Green Belt land, we propose to make it clear that local planning authorities are not required to review and change Green Belt boundaries if this would be the only way to fully meet needs (although authorities still will be able to review and change the boundaries of the Green Belt if they wish, provided they can demonstrate that there are exceptional circumstances).
A similar change would allow local authorities to reduce the number of homes that need to be built if the development significantly changes the character of their areas .
“This change recognizes the importance of being able to plan for growth. in a way that respects the distinctive features of places and creates attractive environments that enjoy local support,” the Government said.
Councils will also be given exemption from building on prime agricultural land.
While the changes will please Tory tenants, who last year forced Rishi Sunak to scrap mandatory local housing targets, developers said the changes would be “catastrophic”.
To refute claims that he conceded to Nimbis, Mr Gove will also tell councils to speed up the publication of their local plans, which is slowing down development.
A government source said he would criticize these local authorities and what is expected as the planning system has not been complied with, he intervened. The source said it would help the government meet its target of building one million homes on Parliament grounds.
Other changes are designed to hold developers accountable and cut bureaucracy. Mr Gove is also expected to announce a series of measures to improve planning efficiency across the system.
This builds on the £42.5 million already announced by the Upgrade Department to tackle the planning backlog and speeding up decision making.
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