"I have yet to meet a single person in our industry who believes that we will hit the housebuilding target of 1.5 million homes over the next five years"
- Richard Pike - Phoebus
The government has confirmed new planning rules including the return of mandatory housing targets and the prioritising of its newly created “grey belt" land.
Under the plans, introduced through an updated National Planning Policy Framework, councils will be told they must play their part to meet housing needs by reaching a new ambitious combined target of 370,000 homes a year.
In addition to the targets, the new rules will see a new approach to the green belt which will require councils to review their green belt boundaries to meet targets, identifying and prioritising lower quality “grey belt” land.
Additionally, any development on the green belt must meet new requirements, dubbed the “golden rules”, which require developers to provide the necessary infrastructure for local communities, such as nurseries, GP surgeries and transport, as well as a “premium level” of social and affordable housing.
Councils and developers will also have to give greater consideration to social rent and greater powers to build genuinely affordable homes.
The government says that reform is “desperately needed if we are to build 1.5 million homes. Under the current planning framework just under one-third of local authorities have adopted a local plan within the last five years and the number of homes granted planning permission has also been allowed to fall to its lowest level in a decade. That has to change.
"Areas must commit to timetables for new plans within 12 weeks of the updated NPPF or ministers will not hesitate to use their existing suite of intervention powers to ensure plans are put in place.”
The government is introducing a new requirement that where plans based on old targets are still in place from July 2026, councils will need to provide for an extra year’s supply of homes in their pipeline – six years instead of five.
Where they do not, the strengthened presumption in favour of sustainable development would apply alongside the existing safeguards in national policy around the provision of affordable housing, design quality, and sustainability of location.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “For far too long, working people graft hard but are denied the security of owning their own home. But with a generation of young people whose dream of homeownership feels like a distant reality and record levels of homelessness, there’s no shying away from the housing crisis we have inherited.
“We owe it to those working families to take urgent action, and that is what this government is doing. Our Plan for Change will put builders not blockers first, overhaul the broken planning system put roofs over the heads of working families and drive the growth that will put more money in people’s pockets.
“We’re taking immediate action to make the dream of homeownership a reality through delivering 1.5 million homes by the next parliament and rebuilding Britain to deliver for working people.”
Industry reaction
Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, said: “An infrastructure-first approach is key to delivering the homes the country desperately needs. Whilst mandatory targets focus minds towards achieving a goal, a one-size-fits-all approach to housing delivery will not be enough if the UK Government are to hit their ambitious housing targets.
"More must be done to work with local authorities to ensure there is the capacity, political will and buy-in from local communities to build in more areas across the country.”
Richard Pike, chief sales and marketing officer at Phoebus, said: “I have yet to meet a single person in our industry who believes that we will hit the housebuilding target of 1.5 million homes over the next five years. Lack of employees in the construction sector, increased materials costs and, of course, the lack of non-greenfield sites are all pretty major problems!
“Housing stock, whether owned or rental, is at a premium. I find it incredible that commercial real estate that is currently empty following the pandemic is not being utilised for residential needs. I also believe that developers must be incentivised to develop rather than sitting on sites for elongated periods.
“That said, on the plus side, if the plans are embraced by industry and momentum gathers pace, we should see some invigoration in local business and the overall economy.”
Peter Canavan, Partner, Carter Jonas (Oxford) comments: "What we need is some certainty, so a policy framework that can sustain for more than a year would be positive for everyone (although we expect more legislation, and potentially more changes to the NPPF next year). What we don’t need continuous tinkering - we want to all settle into an adjusted system and deliver new homes.
"There is a lot to be commended in this new NPPF, but there are still some missed opportunities.
"The focus on delivery in the new NPPF is very welcomed, as is the return of the five-year housing land supply measure: there needs to be a consequence when plans don’t keep up with housing needs.
"On that point, I would really like to see a more specific sanction included in the ‘transition period’ – which for many plans has been increased from 1 month to 3 months (into March 2025) – which requires a review of all plans which are more than 20% behind the requirement set out in the new standard method, within two years, or else the new standard method will be used as the basis for calculating the five-year housing land supply from that two year anniversary date.
"The Joint South Oxfordshire & Vale of White Horse Local Plan was submitted on 10 December (two days before the publication of the new NPPF) with significantly fewer homes than the new standard method, and it was only submitted in order to ‘beat’ the publication of the NPPF; the councils haven’t even finished consulting on the Sustainability Appraisal / Appropriate Assessment for the Plan.
"It is also positive to see that Grey Belt remains, virtually unchanged from the consultation. I think on the whole, it is a good idea, but it will be something to get used to, and something that will be difficult to apply consistently certainly in the early days. The viability controls are not entirely clear in the “golden rules” but not referring to blended land values is welcomed, and the 15% increase in affordable housing might well be achievable, but this will need to be considered on a case-by-case basis.
"The Neighbourhood Planning paragraph (14) was untouched in the consultation, and this is a concern. Notwithstanding what I say above about tinkering, I think this does need some attention. Perhaps a plan hierarchy overhaul should be part of the reforms / future Planning and Infrastructure Bill which will bring about [?] the SDS: Some guidance for regional plans, local plans and neighbourhood plans. All DM policies are to be ‘nationalised’ and development plan documents are to be used specifically for allocating development sites. If they don’t allocate, they don’t have material weight…
"Some more positivity/freedoms for commercial development will be good to see and use. The clustering point is good, but perhaps there should be a more specific mechanism to support speculative enterprise where local plans are ‘silent’ on the matter. A five-year land supply for employment space, if you like.
"There is clearly lots of other detail about transport impacts and severity, climate change, flooding, and design, but for me, it is the management of housing delivery that is key and should provide some positivity/momentum for the new year, if not the monumental boost that we need to achieve 1.5 million new homes over this parliament.
Anthony Codling, head of European housing and building materials research at RBC Capital Market, said: “The Labour Party should be congratulated on the speed at which it has delivered on its planning reform promises. We will hit the ground running in 2025 with a new lean, mean and agile planning machine. The ‘Presumption in Favour of Sustainable Development is Back’ and for Local Authorities it’s now a case of my way or the highway – In the new world there is no room for Bob the Blocker if local plans don’t add up planning decisions will be taken by Keir the Builder. The message to local authorities is clear, step up or step aside.
Simon Brown, CEO of Landmark Information Group, comments: “The publication of the updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is a significant moment to tackle long-standing challenges in housing and infrastructure to deliver the Government’s ambitious 1.5m home target.
“However, systemic barriers—such as fragmented processes, overburdened professionals, and limited information-sharing—still impede progress. By leveraging data more effectively, we can identify demand hotspots, streamline development, and ensure homes are built in the right locations, supported by the necessary infrastructure to foster thriving communities.”
Michelle Quan, Director, Boyer comments: "It is both a surprise and a disappointment that paragraph 14, relating to Neighbourhood Plans, remains unchanged. Perhaps one of the few December 2023 changes which has survived the revisions.
"Many had thought this was an oversight in the consultation and expected to see the December 2023 changes which extended the protection of Neighbourhood Plans to a five year period to be at least reduced back to two years or indeed deleted entirely to support the Government’s housebuilding aspirations.
"It is surprising and seemingly inconsistent that the ‘localism’ agenda seems to remain (in paragraph 14) alongside the introduction of top-down housing targets and a wider shift towards strategic planning, which will ultimately see strategic decision-making shift towards a new tier of Regional governance.
"A seemingly missed opportunity to support the delivery of the 1.5 million new homes the Government is targeting."
Ian Barnett, national land director, Leaders Romans Group comments: “What a difference a year makes. The NPPF changes announced provide and new framework for the industry to work to and a flurry of activity on LinkedIn as everyone seeks to understand the key points and how they will affect their projects.
“There have been many grand announcements in my time in planning and development. The priority has always been to build enough houses for the country’s population in the right places in a manner that protects the most valuable landscapes and environmentally sensitive areas.
“So are the latest announcements in any different to what we’ve all heard before? On paper – yes absolutely. The conviction and tone as well as the content (and indeed the fact it’s announced ahead of when most people expected!) does suggest that this time at least the Government is serious.
“The new NPPF gives an opportunity for the whole narrative on development and housing delivery to change. Whilst some would like to have seen more in terms of strategic planning, today’s NPPF at least gives a new window of opportunity for many sites that are suitable for development and which have been held up by inefficiencies and lack of resources, meddling local politics and NIMBYism to come forward.
“Delivering 1.5m houses in the first term is ambitious and unrealistic but it was utterly impossible under the previous planning system. The time for delivery is here and it’s the responsibility of everyone in the industry – developers, landowners, planners and local authorities to do what is needed. The framework is there – but it will take time to bed in and what we need now more than anything after a new NPPF update for the last two Christmases is stability so we can get on with the task ahead.”
