Government’s flagship planning reforms clear first Commons test

The Government’s flagship planning reforms have cleared their first Commons test, amid warnings the changes risk undermining efforts to accelerate the delivery of new homes.

MPs voted 330 to 74, majority 256, to approve the Planning and Infrastructure Bill at second reading on Monday evening.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said the Bill would speed up the planning system, help achieve the target of building 1.5 million houses by 2029, allow for an expansion of Britain’s energy network and give greater environmental protections.

She told the Commons: “Make no mistake, this Bill will transform the lives of working people and Britain’s prospects for years to come. It is hugely ambitious and rightly so, because everywhere I go I hear the same frustrations.

“We just can’t build anything any more. We desperately need more homes and more development. But for too long, the answer has always been no, and that is choking off growth, leaving working people worse off, and leaving Britain behind.”

Ms Rayner also denied claims from Conservative MPs that the moves to change the planning system would effectively strip residents of the rights to say no to proposed developments, including infrastructure.

She said: “I gently say there isn’t a loss of right to object, and in fact, we’re strengthening the processes and clarifying them as part of this Bill, as I said, and I’ll say it again, quicker and more certain system for big ticket infrastructure projects.

“It will slice through bureaucracy and speed up transport projects, but what it won’t do is allow meritless cases to have three attempts at a legal challenge, and it will stop cases from being dragged endlessly and needlessly through the court.

“And it begins to strip away the unnecessary consultation requirements that do nothing to improve applications, nor meaningfully engage communities, but do slow down the delivery of infrastructure that will benefit communities in the future. It creates greater flexibility so projects can go through the most appropriate and faster planning route.”

Shadow housing secretary Kevin Hollinrake said the Tories would seek to amend the Bill to ensure it does not “undermine the ambition to accelerate the delivery of new homes”.

He added the Conservatives wanted to “make sure there are checks and balances that protect communities, rural areas, farmers, the environment and deliver well-designed affordable homes for everyone, not least those on lower incomes and first-time buyers”.

The Liberal Democrats acknowledged the need to build more homes and infrastructure, but raised concerns over the “overly centralised” approach adopted by the Government.

The party tabled an amendment designed to block the Planning and Infrastructure Bill at second reading, although it was not selected by Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle.

Lib Dem housing and planning spokesman Gideon Amos said “blockages in the system” must be tackled although he warned the Bill gives “sweeping powers” to ministers which could lead to a “democratic deficit”.

He also voiced concerns over developers “racking up permissions that don’t get built”, adding: “We need to tackle that failure to build, taking back the land or further limiting the lifetime of those permissions – use it or lose it, that needs to be the message.”

Labour MP Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Suffolk Coastal) welcomed the proposed environmental delivery plans (EDPs) and nature restoration fund before noting “more can be done” to ensure that “nature and development sit happily alongside each other”.

She said: “Firstly, we must make it explicitly clear that there are to be firm timeframes for the delivery of conservation measures set out in an EDP.

“Secondly, we must have higher expectations of developers. Nature-rich open spaces, nature highways and solar panels on new builds – these are incredibly simple and easy things to implement, but these are things that will make the world of difference to our communities and to nature.”

Ms Riddell-Carpenter later noted her constituency has four nationally significant energy infrastructure projects planned, including Sizewell C, and is also home to “some of the most important biodiverse sites” in the UK.

She went on to address the not in my backyard (Nimby) tag, saying: “Are people nimbys if they fully support our country’s push to net zero, but they ask if they can also do more to protect nature?”

In the concluding speeches, shadow housing minister Paul Holmes warned the changes would result in rural county areas being “required to develop 56% more housing” compared with the previous Tory government’s approach.

He said: “This is more than any other local authority type and equates to over 180,000 homes needed to be delivered in counties per year compared to just over 115,000 under the previous method; that’s on average a rural uplift of 115% while urban areas with major conurbations, mostly Labour authorities, are only up by 17%.”

Housing minister Matthew Pennycook rejected criticism from the opposition benches before noting he has heard calls from several MPs to consider addressing the “significant elongation” of pre-application periods linked to how statutory procedures are being applied.

He said: “This is an issue to which the Deputy Prime Minister and I have already given a significant amount of thought and I commit to giving further consideration to the case for using the Bill to address statutory requirements that would appear to be no longer driving good outcomes.”

Mr Pennycook added: “The Government will not hesitate to act boldly if there’s a compelling case for reform in this area.”