Homebuilding councils encouraged to be more innovative

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has set out proposals to bring Britain’s planning system into the 21st century as part of plans to get the country building.

As such, councils will be encouraged to take a more innovative approach to home building by ensuring redevelopment of high streets is housing-led, building upwards and above and around stations.

From April, the government will launch a register of brownfield sites which will map out unused land as part of plans to encourage councils to make the most of this land first – backed by £400 million to bring this mostly unused land back to use. The government will also review how places assess how many homes are needed in their area and incentivise those that deliver on those numbers.

All local authorities will be required to have up-to-date Local Plans in place by December 2023, or see government intervention, so enough homes are built for their communities.  

Jenrick said: “I want everyone, no matter where they live, to have access to affordable, safe, quality housing and live in communities with a real sense of place – as part of our mission to level up, unite and unleash the potential of this country. We must think boldly and creatively about the planning system to make it fit for the future, and this is just the first step, so we can deliver the homes communities need and help more young people onto the ladder.”

This follows the announcement of £12 billion of investment to build more affordable homes – the biggest cash investment in affordable housing for a decade.