Wolverhampton and Sandwell council chiefs welcome Angela Rayner's plans to relax rules on smaller housing developments
Government reforms aimed at making it easier to get planning permission for small housing developments have been broadly welcomed by two council leaders in the West Midlands.
The leaders of Labour-run Wolverhampton and Sandwell councils said they were still analysing the details of the measures announced by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner yesterday, but appeared to welcome them in principle.
Mrs Rayner said she would be making an extra £10 million available to fund more planning officers, who would have the authority to decide on more applications without the need for them to go before committees of elected councillors.
She said developments of 49 homes or fewer would not need to meet stringent environmental regulations and would not be subject to the building safety levy which they are at the moment.
Mrs Rayner said she wanted small and medium-sized house builders to play a greater role in helping to meet the Government's target of building 1.5 million new homes.
The leaders of Labour-run Wolverhampton and Sandwell councils said they were still studying the implications of the announcement, but welcomed the proposals in principle.
Councillor Stephen Simkins, leader of Wolverhampton Council, said: “We are digesting the details of the Government’s new planning reform measures and, of course, welcome any legislation that helps deliver good quality homes for people in well-connected neighbourhoods across Wolverhampton.
“There is an increasing demand for housing and as a council we have established a housing framework that is delivering homes at pace and bringing small disused brownfield sites back into use for the benefit of our residents and communities.
“To speed up the delivery of new affordable homes on smaller sites in the private sector we also established the council’s wholly owned housing company, WV Living, which has delivered over 600 new homes, with more than 550 additional properties planned over the next five years.”
Councillor Vicki Smith, Sandwell Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “We look forward to reading the detail of today’s announcement and how the reforms and investment can help speed up the delivery of new homes for Sandwell as well as supporting job creation and economic growth.
“The vast majority of housing developments in Sandwell are with small and medium-sized developers given the size of sites available in the borough.
“We will continue to work closely with the government, West Midlands Combined Authority and a range of public and private sector partners to unlock sites and deliver a pipeline of much-needed new housing.”
