A MAJOR planning shake-up is set to ban NIMY councillors and neighbours from blocking desperately needed new homes.
In the King’s speech today a huge package of measures to turbocharge housing supply, help homeowners and protect renters was announced.
It included proposals to rip up planning red tape and unlock 1.5 million new homes by 2029.
The move is intended to make the dream of homeownership an attainable goal for working families once again.
To unleash the building blitz, a proposed Planning and Infrastructure Bill would streamline approval processes for major projects including wind farms, upgrades to the national grid and new housing developments.
Local people would be banned from blocking new houses where ministers determine the need for development is pressing.
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And town halls would be forced to consistently and frequently identify spaces for development and produce plans to rapidly increase housing supply there.
Where councils don’t play ball with building, ministers would step in and impose new development blueprints on them.
On land identified as ripe for building there would have to be a presumption in favour.
And ugly patches of the green belt would be freed up for development.
Sir Keir has also vowed to re-introduce of mandatory house building targets for town halls, which were scrapped by the last government.
This morning Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden admitted Labour’s planning reforms “may be controversial in some places”.
He told the BBC: “We were very clear during the election campaign that we would come out of this on the side of getting things built more quickly.
“That may be controversial in some places, I’ve no doubt that it will be.
“It’s a big decision for the country.
“If we do nothing on this, we will continue with a situation where there’s a whole generation of young people for whom the aspiration of owning their own home, or sometimes even renting one at a reasonable price, will continue to be unrealisable.”
Hated “no fault evictions” and the sale of rip-off leasehold flats would also finally be banned in England, the government confirmed today.
In a win for England‘s 11 million private tenants, landlords would no longer be allowed to kick them out without a reason.
And tenants would be given more empowerment to challenge ridiculous rent increases used to force them out by the backdoor.
Landlords will be prohibited from unreasonably refusing pet requests and forced to abide by a new Decent Homes Standard.
In the social and private rental sector Awaab’s Law would set legal expectations about the timeframes within which landlords have to repair hazards such a mould and damp.
And it would become illegal for landlords to discriminate against tenants on benefits or with kids when picking who lets their property.
Today’s King’s Speech also provided much-needed relief for desperate leaseholders, currently trapped by cowboy freeholders charging extortionate ground rents.
A new Bill would bolster rights for homeowners to extend leases and buy their freehold.
And ground rents would be regulated to put an end to disgraceful and sudden annual charge hikes.
However the exact forms of regulation, whether a price cap or reduction to peppercorn rates, hasn’t been decided yet.
Ministers also pledged to slowly end the feudal housing system by restricting the sale of new leasehold flats.
