National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)

Though well-considered development has the potential to create significant social, community and economic benefits, my Liberal Democrat parliamentary colleagues and I believe this is best realised through real community involvement in the decisions that affect them. Which, of course, seems to be the opposite of the view emanating from government Ministers at the moment.

I felt the most useful thing would be to set out the statement I released about this on the day of the government’s announcement. Here it is:

No government has met its housebuilding targets (unless the government builds them itself), and this government is no less doomed to failure. This is because setting housebuilding targets is based on a naive delusion that private developers would be willing to collude with the government to drive down the price of completed homes, and to generally act against their commercial interests. Unfortunately, all mainstream political parties are adherents to this delusion.

House building targets are a means to an end. The end, of course, being the meeting (or at least reduction) of housing need. If instead, the government set targets to meet needs, it would provide for more creative opportunities to engage communities, rather than to alienate them, as now.

Cornwall is one of the best examples of where the government’s policy fails. Cornwall has not just met its targets. It has exceeded them, and is one of the fastest-growing places in the UK, almost tripling the housing stock in the last 60 years.

Yet the housing problems of local families have got worse. Setting and meeting high housing targets doesn’t work in places like Cornwall, because developers make more money building homes for property investors (eg second and holiday home owners) than in meeting housing need.

Liberal Democrats believe communities and local authorities should be granted more powers to design how their communities meet their housing and other needs, be enabled to deliver their own homes and to better hold developers to account. Local authorities, rather than the central government, are better placed to know what developments are needed in their area.

I oppose the Government’s proposed changes to planning for several reasons, including:

The loss of power of communities over what happens in their areas.
The less stringent environmental standards.
Insufficient support for social housing.

Liberal Democrats want to meet housing need, not just let land-value speculators and profit-driven developers milk the system to their advantage and the detriment of our local communities. We would:

Replace Business Rates with a Land Value Tax collected by local authorities to disincentivise land-value speculation and to retrieve unearned benefit granted by planning permission and through land banking by developers.
Halt the unearned benefit of ‘hope value’ created on land through designation, and introduce penalties for developers who fail to develop land that has been granted permission.
Introduce a condition that plots sold must commence construction on schedule, and if owners deem it unviable for themselves, they’re obliged to accept open from developers of in perpetuity affordable homes, who would then be obliged to commence construction within an agreed time limit.

Liberal Democrats are also concerned that reducing the amount of genuinely affordable housing will make it even more likely that those in need will not be able to secure a home they can afford. There is a significant lack of new ‘social homes’. We believe new targets must be set to increase the number of social/council homes.

Liberal Democrats believe we can solve the housing crisis without excessive detriment to our natural environment.

We will continue to campaign for higher climate and biodiversity standards for new builds, and for the insulation of Britain’s homes to the highest possible EPC standard.
Alongside these planning reforms, Liberal Democrats would restore natural areas of the UK with huge investment for peatlands, native woodlands, wetlands and more.
The Conservatives consistently failed to build enough homes, and they’ve continued to hollow out local authorities who should be taking the lead on building houses.
A secure home is a fundamental right all people should have. Liberal Democrats will continue to hold the Government to account on planning reforms until this right is secure.

Liberal Democrats would:

Give local councils the power to build council houses and ensure that they remain in the social sector, and the power, through planning, to enforce 100% affordability in those new developments.
Give local authorities new powers to control second homes and holiday lets, including new planning classes.
Require second homeowners, holiday lets, and investment property to pay their fair share of tax.
Build 150,000 social homes a year, consisting of council houses and housing association homes, so that the less well-off in our society have the security that others enjoy.

Liberal Democrats already have a history of sustainably delivering homes, working in partnership with local communities in local areas across the country.

For more information on the National Planning Policy Framework Guidance, read here.