Housebuilding targets could force councils to develop 'grey belt' sites

The government yesterday set out its intent to massively increase housebuilding, with a shake-up of planning rules that could force local authorities in England to build on low-quality green belt sites if they fail to reach mandatory home construction targets.

- Peter Walker

The proposed framework, which will order all regions apart from London to prepare for thousands more homes, is the start of a wider effort under which council planning procedures will be streamlined and the right to buy scheme will be reviewed.

Announcing the plans to MPs, Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister and housing secretary, said urgent action was needed after the Conservative government made local targets voluntary, allowing many projects to be blocked.

Rayner said the overall target for new homes would rise from 300,000 a year to 370,000, contrasting this to forecasts that fewer than 200,000 homes will be completed this year, with about 100,000 being affordable.

"Some will find this uncomfortable, and others will try and poke holes," Rayner said. "To this I say: we have a housing crisis and a mandate for real change, and we all must play our part." While the proposals were broadly welcomed by councils and planning organisations, the Conservatives condemned them as confusing and over-centralised.

Under a proposed National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) for England, local authorities will have a duty to deliver more homes and, unless they come up with a clear plan for how this will happen, ministers could step in and take over the process.