London (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Labour’s goal of building 1.5 million homes by 2025 faces challenges without major reforms to the planning system, a report from the Centre for Cities reveals.
The Centre for Cities, a UK-based urban policy think tank, warns that Labour will miss its 1.5 million home target without radical planning reforms before the end of the parliament.
During election campaigns, Keir Starmer highlighted housing affordability as a key focus, vowing to “get Britain building again.”
As reported by the Guardian, the think tank argues that the government’s measures, such as re-establishing local housing targets and increasing social housing funding, are not enough.
UK housing target at risk
The Centre for Cities report examines housebuilding data from 1947, when the Town and Country Planning Act established the current planning framework.
The report warned Sir Keir Starmer that his housing target will miss by “at least” 388,000 homes, a setback to the Prime Minister’s efforts to relaunch his government.
According to the Centre for Cities think tank, ministers will miss their target of building 1.12 million homes by 2029, as planning reforms do not address the core issues of Britain’s housing crisis.
The forecast shows that completions will miss the Prime Minister’s target of 1.5 million homes by at least 25% over the next five years.
Major cities facing the biggest shortfalls, Greater London is set to miss its housing target by 196,000 homes over the next five years, falling 60% short of the goal.
Centre for Cities demands better planning
Andrew Carter, CEO of the Centre for Cities, urged the government to adopt a “much more ambitious” approach to achieve its housing goal.
Mr Carter said, “We’re in a productivity crisis. The UK’s big cities are the jobs and productivity engines of the economy but our planning system doesn’t allow – and has never allowed – them to build an adequate supply of homes for everyone that could work there.”
Labour’s housing goals
The Telegraph reported that Sir Keir will announce a set of “milestone” promises to voters on Thursday, narrowing down his Government’s priorities.
The set of commitments from Labour is expected to cover the 1.5 million house target, as well as plans to enhance living standards and early years education.
While Sir Keir Starmer is likely to downplay his key promise to secure the highest sustained economic growth in the G7.
The Centre for Cities analysis suggests that meeting the Government’s more focused priorities may be highly challenging to achieve.
According to the Centre for Cities, Sir Keir Starmer would need to either “scrap the green belt completely” or remove the discretionary part of the planning system to meet the target.
NPPF housing proposal
Angela Rayner, the Housing Secretary, launched a “radical plan” at the end of July to “get Britain building.”
A new draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) proposes mandatory housing targets, raises targets in many regions and permits development on “grey belt” land.
Lord Mayor’s economic warning
Alastair King, Lord Mayor of the City of London Corporation, warned that the Government was not acting quickly enough to stimulate economic growth.
Speaking at the Guildhall on Monday evening, he delivered a keynote address to the Prime Minister and political leaders, he said, “Here in the City, we strongly welcome your industrial strategy that recognises the critical importance of the financial and professional services sector in achieving growth.”
He added, “But we must ask ourselves, ‘Are we going far enough and are we going fast enough?’ I believe the answer is no.”
However, he urged for more generous tax breaks on the trading of stocks and shares to encourage UK investment.
Mr King stated, “It cannot be logically correct that, as it stands, we do not pay tax on purchases of international vehicles such as Tesla, but we are taxed for investing in a British brand like Aston Martin.”
Government’s housing plans
The government spokesperson said, “Despite the dire housebuilding inheritance we are trying to fix, we will deliver the 1.5m homes our country desperately needs and get Britain building again.”
They added, “To get there, the Government has already outlined plans to streamline the planning system, restored mandatory housing targets, established a programme to unblock homes stuck in the planning process, and set up a new body to deliver the next generation of new towns.”
The government insists the new Planning and Infrastructure Bill will make important changes to the planning system, to support housebuilding and promote the economy.