The property industry has welcomed Labour leader Keir Starmer’s plans to reform the planning system and streamline the process for national infrastructure projects and commercial development.
If the party wins the next general election Starmer has also pledged to reimpose housing targets and “remove the veto used by big landowners to stop shovels hitting the ground”.
In a speech at the British Chambers of Commerce global annual conference yesterday, the Labour leader said the party would “choose the builders, not the blockers” and would give “the communities and nations of this country the right powers to drive private sector growth, and to get their high streets growing again, new powers for councils to take over empty retail units”.
He also said the party would level the playing field “with the online warehouses, we will scrap and replace business rates”.
Although Starmer’s speech was lacking detail, the property industry welcomed the proposed reforms.
Marc Vlessing, chief executive of Pocket Living, said: “We welcome the commitment given by Kier Starmer to position homeownership at the centre of the policy agenda for the next election. From research we recently undertook it is clear that not only is a lack of homeownership opportunity acting as a drag on productivity, but it is also frustrating the aspirations of an entire generation of voters.
“We agree with the analysis that a failure to reform the planning system is a significant factor in creating this crisis, however, green belt reform is just one of a number of policy solutions available. Brownfield sites have a key role to play in the housing crisis and the industry led Small Site Planning Policy remains the clearest solution to help unlock these opportunities.”
Mark Allan, CEO of Landsec, said: “The planning system is currently a brake to our shared national ambitions – to generate more economic growth, deliver new homes and shape more successful places.
“Too much energy has been spent trying to answer the question of how to make housebuilding in rural and commuter locations more palatable to people who oppose it, rather than thinking through how to use the planning system to unlock sustainable growth in the public interest and for the whole country.
“The result is a rigid and overly complex system that seems designed to prevent or slow growth and the delivery of new homes – particularly in urban areas. We’re pleased to see meaningful reform of the planning system and in particular the role of commercial and mixed use development rising up the political agenda. We hope this marks the beginning of a meaningful discussion of how government policies can enable businesses like ours to contribute to realising the UK’s potential.”
Christopher Roberts, associate director at Boyer, said: “Kier Starmer’s announcements provide hope of a more sensible approach to planning and development, which is refreshing after months of reactionary ‘anti-housing’ posturing from the government and Conservative backbenchers.
“Whilst we await detailed manifesto commitments, a revival of meaningful regional-scale spatial planning, a reasoned approach to greenbelt release, and a firmer commitment to housing targets, represent real opportunities to reinvigorate Britain’s stalling construction and housebuilding sectors, and bolster economic growth. All of this is essential.”
Ian Barnett, national land director at Leaders Roman Group, added: “A sensible discussion on the greenbelt is long overdue. This doesn’t mean concreting all over it; indeed it could mean that more land is designated as greenbelt. What is important is that we build enough homes in the right places and protect land that deserves to be protected and that the planning system provides a proper framework to enable this.”
