Planning reforms were highlighted as part of the Spring Statement published by HM Treasury today, alongside the announcement of £3bn towards affordable housing.

Within the coming months, the government pledged to act in four key areas. It will:

 

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• Introduce additional planning guidance to support housing diversification on large sites in response to Sir Oliver Letwin’s Independent Report on Build Out Rates. The report concluded that greater differentiation in the types and tenures of housing delivered on large sites would increase build out rates.

 

• Introduce a package of reforms including allowing greater change of use between premises, and a new permitted development right to allow upwards extension of existing buildings to create new homes.

 

• Publish a Green Paper setting out proposals on how greater capacity and capability, performance management and procedural improvements can accelerate the end-to-end planning process.

 

• Outline a Future Homes Standard, to be introduced by 2025, future-proofing new build homes with low carbon heating and world-leading levels of energy efficiency. This is part of the mission to at least halve the energy use of new buildings by 2030.