Rigid planning targets eased in rural areas

Local authorities that have ‘outperformed’ do not have to stick to housing plans, says Gove

RURAL areas that have exceeded housing targets in the past will not have to build as many homes in future, Michael Gove has pledged in a bid to see off a potential Tory rebellion.

The Levelling-up Secretary told MPS that he wanted to ensure that local authorities that had “outperformed expectations” in recent years did not have to stick to rigid targets to build many more.

And he denied that his department was seeking a “power-grab” where national planning policies should override locally-agreed plans.

He said: “Quite rightly it should be the case that if a local community has invested time and care in making sure it has a robust local plan, that should prevail.”

Mr Gove’s promise came after Tory MP Paul Holmes said the Government’s target to build 300,000 homes made the “blood drain” from many faces in local communities. The Levelling-up Secretary also revealed that Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, is working on reforms to the council tax system, which could be unveiled in the new year.

He said local government finance must be made “simpler and clearer”, and described council tax as the “second most unpopular tax for a variety of reasons”.

However, he did not give any details and said he was not worried about “relatively wealthy” people paying more in council tax as a result of the Autumn Statement.

Mr Gove has promised to rewrite local planning rules following Tory grassroots anger at a target to build 300,000 new homes a year. Appearing before the Levelling-up select committee, he said it was a “manifesto ambition”.

He added: “There’s been a lively debate about how those numbers are generated, and how we make judgments about household formation and population growth overall.

“My own view is that whatever figures you arrive at nationally, and how it’s broken down authority by authority, a greater proportion of housing need should be met in urban areas on brownfield sites.

“Many of our cities are significantly less dense than their counterparts elsewhere and that is bad for everything from transport to economic growth.

“Second, I do believe that we need to have in plan-making a judgment about the likely level of new housing required.

“I also think that in plan-making we should have a system whereby once a plan has been adopted, a community can feel confident that you don’t get speculative development undermining the commitment to local democratic control.”

The minister also said it was not the case that national planning policies would override local plans, adding that any robust local plan should prevail.