A coalition of charities has written to the Prime Minister and housing secretary, Steve Reed, to call for a reset in the government’s approach to development and planning.
The letter from members of the Better Planning Coalition comes as ministers are set to make final decisions on a national planning policy.
The government’s decision on a new National Planning Policy Framework is due by the summer, and will introduce new “national decision-making policies” which will overrule local authorities’ Local Plans in most matters. The new NPPF also strengthens the presumption in favour of development by further restricting the matters which could overrule the NPPF’s “default yes” to development.
The coalition, which includes the RSPB, Woodland Trust and CPRE among others, says that the impending changes will come at a time of falling housing supply, with larger developers scaling back their plans in the face of economic uncertainty and rising costs. It suggests that the government now faces a choice of whether to further weaken the planning system as a response, or adopt an alternative approach, such as working more with metro mayors and others to boost public sector housing delivery, including with new regional planning powers.
The charities warn that further weakening of planning policy could risk the worst of all possible worlds with “raised but unmet expectations of affordable housing, an obsession with planning reform to increase supply while developers scale back their plans, and a planning system that can no longer ensure that development works for nature, communities and the climate.”
Commenting on the letter, Better Planning Coalition convenor, Richard Hebditch, said: “Weakening the planning system is not leading to an increase in housebuilding. But it will likely lead to poor quality development and fuel a backlash against development. Now is a good time for the government to reset its approach to planning and development.”
