You can't avoid building new housing, minister tells councils

Local authorities will not be given any "wiggle room" when it comes to meeting new mandatory housebuilding targets, the government says.

Ministers are to unveil an overhaul to the planning system which would give local authorities compulsory targets to reach a combined total of 370,000 new homes a year in England.

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook told BBC Breakfast councils should have a say on "how development happens, not whether it happens at all".

However, councils have expressed concerns about the targets, with Labour-run authorities among those branding the plans "unrealistic" and "impossible to achieve".

Conservative shadow housing secretary Kevin Hollinrake said it was "vital" new homes were built in the right places with infrastructure alongside them.

"Labour will bulldoze through the concerns of local communities," he added.

The government has made boosting housebuilding a key priority, promising 1.5 million new homes over the next five years.

Pennycook said overhauling the planning system was not the whole solution but "a large part of the answer" to the housing crisis.

He said the government was "prepared to use all the ministerial powers at our disposal" if councils refused to put a local plan in place to meet housebuilding targets, including taking the plan off them.

Under the updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), previously developed land - known as "brownfield" sites - will be prioritised for development.

Councils will also be ordered to review green belt boundaries - which were created to prevent urban sprawl - by identifying lower quality "grey belt" land.

Green belt development must comply with new "golden rules", which require developers to prioritise necessary infrastructure, such as nurseries and GP surgeries, as well as guarantee affordable housing and access to green spaces.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: "Our plan for change will put builders not blockers first, overhaul the broken planning system and put roofs over the heads of working families and drive the growth that will put more money in people's pockets."

The reforms mean areas that are the least affordable for housing will see housebuilding targets increase.

However, Craig Bennett, chief executive of the Wildlife Trusts, said there was a danger the environment could suffer from plans to boost housebuilding.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it would be "a colossal, historic missed opportunity" to build new homes "in a way that destroys nature, rather than at the same time, restores and rebuilds our natural infrastructure".

The government has also promised £100m of extra funds for councils and 300 additional planning officers to speed up decision-making processes.

It said local authorities would have 12 weeks to come up with timetables for new housebuilding plans or risk intervention from ministers.

The Local Government Association (LGA) said tackling local housing challenges would require a "collaborative approach" between councils and the government.

Councils and communities who know their local areas well are "best placed to make judgement decisions on how to manage competing demand for land," LGA spokesman Adam Hug said.