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Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, has announced the launch of the New Homes Accelerator as part of plans to deliver 1.5 million new homes across the country.
The accelerator team from the Ministry of Housing and Homes England will seek to help progress housing schemes that have been stalled by planning red tape and other barriers to development. Early analysis suggest there are approximately 200 such large sites in England that could deliver up to 300,000 new homes in total.
The New Homes Accelerator will work with local authorities and planning departments, housebuilders and other government agencies to result specific local issues and deploy planning experts on the ground to work through blockages at each site identified; work will also include looking at barriers to affordable housing delivery where relevant.?
Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner said:
“For far too long the delivery of tens of thousands of new homes has been held back by a failure to make sure the development system is working as it should.
“This government has a moral obligation to do everything within our power to build the homes that people desperately need and we won’t hesitate to intervene where we need to.
“Our New Homes Accelerator will quickly identify blockages, fix problems and support local authorities and developers to get shovels in the ground.”
A call for evidence has also been launched that invites landowners, local authorities and housebuilders to come forward with details of blocked sites that have significant planning issues, so the Government can better understand the scale of the problem across the country, in order to tackle the obstacles that are preventing the delivery of new homes.
David O’Leary, Executive Director of the Home Builders Federation said of the accelator:
“The planning process and everything associated with it delivers too little land and has long been a significant constraint on house building. Government has shown a welcome desire in the weeks since the election to address the problems. A lack of planning department capacity and misaligned incentives for other public bodies and statutory consultees has created a process with huge uncertainty. This creates an abundance of risk resulting in longer development timescales and severe challenges in particular for small and medium-sized house builders.
“Adopting a pragmatic approach to planning will increase the pace at which new homes are built and help to turn around ailing housing supply. Unlocking homes and delivering new communities will boost growth and support job creation while providing young people with access to new, more affordable housing. The housing market is complex and we look forward to working with government to ensure that all aspects of the housing market are functioning more effectively.”