MPs Urge Government to Push Through Rapid Planning Reforms to Unleash £4.7bn in fiscal headroom for the Chancellor
A new intervention backed by senior Labour figures calls on the Government to unleash a wave of housebuilding by using limited changes to draft and existing legislation to push through urgent planning reforms.
The plan, Rapid Reforms, published by the Good Growth Foundation, outlines four targeted reforms that could be enacted immediately, becoming a catalyst for £4.7bn in headroom and building an additional 229,000 homes over the next four years - meaning the Government would be able to reach its 1.5 million new homes target.
The proposals, which could create up to 90,000 additional homes per year by 2029/30, have won the backing of Chris Curtis MP, Chair of the Labour Growth Group - a caucus of over 100 Labour MPs.
Curtis said: “This is exactly the kind of practical, pro-growth reform the country needs. We have the tools to build now - this plan shows how to use them. If we want to meet our housing targets and prevent blockages, we must act without delay.”
The full suite of proposals include:
Delegating planning decisions: Exempting developments in line with local plans from committee call-ins, handing decisions to professional planners.
National planning rules: Activating the Levelling Up Act’s National Development Management Policies to standardise decisions and allow automatic approval in certain contexts.
Unlocking homes near infrastructure: Removing the cap on housing linked to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects.
Empowering communities: Enabling ‘Street Votes’ to allow residents to collectively propose and approve local developments.
The Good Growth Foundation highlights that delays in planning are contributing to the worst housebuilding rates since the global financial crisis, threatening housing supply and economic growth. It argues that current discretionary processes, especially in planning committees, are creating unnecessary bottlenecks and investor uncertainty.
The proposed changes could be enacted by Secretaries of State in time for the Autumn Budget and OBR fiscal outlook.
Praful Nargund, Director of the Good Growth Foundation, said: “Right now, the public is sceptical about delivery; they want action, not more promises. These rapid reforms are about just that: change people will notice. They are also key to tackling the UK’s wider fiscal challenges. This is the moment to show growth isn’t just a number on a graph. It is something that can viscerally improve people’s lives.”
Notes to Editors
Full estimates for additional homes and fiscal headroom are available upon request.
