Government confirms overhaul of local plans

The government has confirmed an overhaul of local plans, frameworks used by local councils to determine where houses and infrastructure should be built, aimed at accelerating the delivery of new homes.

Changes including an expectation for new local plans to be drawn up within two-and-a-half years, versus an average time of seven years, as well as regular assessments for councils to meet targets, greater use of digital tools to boost transparency, and greater clarity about how plans should be prepared and updated.

The move is being backed with a further £4.5 million to fund salary bursaries for new planning roles in councils, which has seen almost 90 graduate planners start roles across the country, and an ambition to see more than 300 extra planners recruited to local authorities by the end of 2026.

Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook said:

“The plan-led approach is, and must remain, the cornerstone of our planning system and the government are determined to progress toward universal coverage of local plans.

“The steps we are taking today will ensure that local plans are simpler, faster to prepare and more accessible so that communities in every part of the country can more easily shape decisions about how to deliver the housing and wider development their areas need.

“Alongside further guidance and support to help local authorities realise the full potential of this government’s planning reforms, these changes will help deliver our ambitious Plan for Change milestone of building 1.5 million new homes in this Parliament.”

The government announcement follows updates to the National Planning Policy Framework last year, which set new mandatory housing targets for local authorities and updated requirements to prioritise ‘grey belt’ land for development where needed.

Additional funding of £70,000 will be handed out to each of the 133 local authorities who came forward for support to help them carry out locally led green belt reviews. Further funding for other councils at other stages of updating local plans is also set to be announced.

In Stockport, the borough has been without a local plan since withdrawing from the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, a proposed shared plan for all 10 Greater Manchester boroughs. Since then, work has been underway to prepare a new local plan, but progress has stalled as successive governments have announced repeated changes to planning rules.