All homes built near railway stations will be given automatic approval under new plans being drawn up by Angela Rayner.
The Housing Secretary is rewriting rules, meaning there will be a “default yes” for developments within walking distance of train, tram and London Underground stops.
The change comes when the Government is just over a quarter of the way to its target of building 1.5 million homes in England after two years of the five-year parliament.
Under the new National Planning Policy Framework, which was published on Monday, there will be default approval for homes built within “reasonable walking distance of well-connected stations”.
Ms Rayner said: “A safe, secure home is the foundation of opportunity, but too many people are being priced out of the communities where they want to live and work.
“By unlocking thousands of homes around well-connected transport hubs, we’re helping people live closer to work, school and the services they rely on, while backing local businesses and driving growth in our communities.
“That’s how we’ll tackle the housing crisis and raise living standards for people in every corner of the country.”
Despite Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s promises of devolution, the planning shake-up will also mean conflicting local positions will carry less weight if they are inconsistent with national decision-making policies.
Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said people were being priced out
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GB NEWS
The latest estimate is that 392,400 net additional homes had been delivered in England between July 2024 when Labour came into office and June 14 this year.
Around 600,000 new homes would need to have been added in the first two years to keep pace with the 1.5 million target over five years, although ministers are hopeful that planning reforms will speed up delivery in the coming years.
Shadow Housing Secretary Sir James Cleverly said Labour was “failing abysmally” to meet the 1.5 million homes target.
He said: “To try to fix their own mess, Labour are planning a power grab, seizing control from local communities and forcing them to accept development in the wrong areas because Labour won’t build in the right areas.”
James Cleverly said Labour were failing to tackle the issue
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GB NEWSSir James said Mr Burnham “is going to overrule councils on green belt development and launch a new campaign of garden grabbing”.
Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice said: “These reforms are in direct contradiction of Andy Burnham’s devolution agenda.
“Far from empowering local councils who actually know their communities, they strip power from the people who live there and hand it to Whitehall so ministers can ram through major housing developments while sidelining residents and ignoring the infrastructure that already can’t cope.”
Under the new system, Sport England will continue to advise on “significant” cases and the Gardens Trust and Theatres Trust will only be notified about relevant applications.
Richard Tice accused Labour of ‘sidelining residents’
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PAThe Garden Trust said it was “devastating news” that the organisation would no longer be a statutory consultee, warning it will put parks at risk.
Trust chairman John Watkins said: “This devalues these special places and makes them vulnerable to poorly informed development.”
Chancellor John Healey said: “We want to drive growth in every postcode and help more working people into home ownership. A secure home is the heart of all our lives, helping people put down roots, plan for the future and build a good life for themselves and their families.
“This is about creating opportunity, prosperity and stronger communities across the country.”