Local residents to lose power to block new housing as Starmer vows to 'get rid of brakes on planning system'
17 July 2024, 00:12 | Updated: 17 July 2024, 06:45
Locals will lose the ability to block new homes in their area as part of a shake-up expected to be announced by the government on Wednesday.
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Keir Starmer promised to "take the brakes off Britain" with dozens of bills to be introduced in the new Labour government's first King's Speech.
Among these is a scheme to reform planning by allowing locals to have their say on "how, not if" houses will be built in their area.
Starmer has pledged to build 1.5 million homes in five years of Labour government to reduce the pressure on the housing market.
As part of efforts to achieve this, Labour are set to ask local authorities to identify land that is suitable for housing - at which point there will be a presumption in favour of building, the Times reported.
Read more: Labour Party eyeing up green belt sites in housebuilding blitz
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That suggests that locals would not be able to veto new schemes, but could object to the style in which projects are built.
If councils cannot find suitable land for housing, ministers will step in to do it themselves.
Other measures could include designating 'low-quality' green belt land on the edges of cities as 'grey belt' - making it easier to develop.
Starmer said ahead of the King's Speech: "Now is the time to take the brakes off Britain. For too long people have been held back, their paths determined by where they came from - not their talents and hard work.
"I am determined to create wealth for people up and down the country. It is the only way our country can progress, and my government is focussed on supporting that aspiration.
"Today’s new laws will take back control and lay the foundations of real change that this country is crying out for, creating wealth in every community and making people better off - supporting their ambitions, hopes and dreams."
The government said in a statement ahead of the King's Speech that "getting Britain to build more housing and infrastructure, including through planning reform" would be central to its plans to strengthen economic growth.
Ministers said they would "speed up and streamline the planning process to build more homes of all tenures and accelerate the delivery of major infrastructure projects."
They added: "By enabling democratic engagement with how, not if, homes and infrastructure are built – the major brakes on the planning system will be addressed to support sustainable growth."
Matthew Pennycook on Labour's housing plans
Speaking to the Cabinet on Tuesday morning, Commons Leader Lucy Powell said the speech represented "a packed legislative agenda and the Government's determination to return politics to public service".
With more than 35 bills expected, Wednesday's speech will be one of the chunkiest in recent history, second only to 2022 when the Government put forward 38 Bills including several that were carried over from the previous year.
The last time there was a change of government, in 2022, the new administration put forward only 22 bills.
Other bills expected in the speech include new laws to renationalise the railways by 2029 under a new public body, Great British Railways.
Most existing railway contracts are set to expire by the end of 2025, and while some extend into the 2030s, senior Labour sources suggested the government could take advantage of break clauses to bring services back into public ownership sooner.
Local authorities will receive more powers over bus routes and the ability to set up their own bus companies once again under the terms of a proposed Better Buses bill.
An English Devolution bill, transferring more power away from Westminster, the creation of a national wealth fund, and a boost for workers' rights through Labour's "new deal for working people" are also likely to feature.
