Put in place Local Plans by 2017 or face intervention, PM tells councils

Councils must produce local plans for new homes in their area by 2017 or the Government will ensure plans are produced for them, the Prime Minister has said.

The warning came as David Cameron unveiled a Housing and Planning Bill, which he said would help deliver the Government’s ambition of one million homes by 2020.

The PM also claimed that Government measures would deliver 200,000 Starter Homes, offer 1.3m tenants the Right to Buy and cut red tape to boost home building.

According to the Government, 82% of councils have published local plans. However, only 65% have fully adopted them.

Under the Bill:

• A new legal duty will be placed on councils to guarantee the delivery of Starter Homes “on all reasonably sized new development sites, and to promote the scheme to first-time buyers in their area”.
• Local authorities will be able to bid immediately for a share of a £10m Starter Homes fund. This will help councils prepare brownfield sites that would otherwise not be built for starter homes, the PM said.
• There would be automatic planning permission in principle on brownfield sites – “to build as many homes as possible while protecting the green belt”.
• Planning reforms would support small builders. This would involve a new duty on councils to help allocate land to people who want to build their own home.
• High value vacant assets will be sold off, and the proceeds will be reinvested in building new affordable homes.

The Prime Minister also confirmed that the temporary rule introduced in May 2013 allowing people to convert disused offices into homes without applying for planning permission would be made a permanent change.

The Government claimed that 4,000 such conversions had been given the go ahead between April 2014 to June this year.

David Cameron said: “A Greater Britain must mean more families having the security and stability of owning a home of their own. My government will do everything it can to help people buy a place of their own – at the heart of this is our ambition to build 1 million new homes by 2020.

“Many areas are doing this already – and this is great – but we need a national crusade to get homes built and everyone must play their part.

“Councils have a key role to play in this by drawing up their own local plans for new homes by 2017. But if they fail to act, we’ll work with local people to produce a plan for them.”

Details on the exact nature of this intervention will be published shortly.

Cllr Peter Box, the Local Government Association's housing spokesman, said: "Councils are desperate to see the homes our communities need built and to keep boosting struggling high streets. But every place is different and it is crucial residents have a say on new developments that will put additional pressure on schools, roads and hospitals in their area. A blanket national policy is not the answer.

"The planning system is not a barrier to development and councils are making good progress with getting complex and detailed local plans in place. Planning approvals are at a 10-year high, with nine in 10 applications being granted permission.”

Cllr Box also said the LGA had concerns about the Government’s decision to permanently allow developers to convert offices into homes without the need for planning permission.

"This temporary policy was designed to provide a new lease of life to empty offices but some councils have reported some existing businesses being evicted so landlords can cash in on higher residential rates and sale prices,” he said.

“Not only has this led to less of some of the office space needed for economic growth it has, in some cases, seen it replaced with homes which do not meet community needs and remain unaffordable.

"Councils are part of the solution in tackling our housing crisis and we urge the Government to give them more powerful means to do so, for example stronger compulsory order powers to take on sites stuck in the system and powers to make sure developers prioritise brownfield sites."