Tue, 11 Mar 2025

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 Plan to make it easier for councils to seize land for housing

The measure is part of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which has been introduced to Parliament.

* The UK government plans to give councils more power to seize land through compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) to boost housebuilding.
* The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will remove the "hope value" from CPOs, allowing land to be bought at a lower price without planning permission.
* However, rural campaign groups warn that farmers could be forced to sell land at knock-down prices and green spaces could be lost.
* Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook says CPOs will be used more often for regenerating brownfield land rather than valuable countryside or local green spaces.
* The bill also aims to streamline the planning process by allowing officers to make decisions directly, rather than councillors.
* Councils have expressed concerns that this change could mean they are shut out of the democratic planning process.
* The government has promised to build 1.5 million new homes in England over the next five years, but the number of new homes continues to fall.
* Pennycook says the current system is "expensive, slow and bureaucratic" and the changes will help unlock construction for new homes, roads, rail and renewable energy projects.
* Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has defended the plans, saying they will "back the builders" and "take on the blockers" to create a "biggest building boom in a generation".
* The bill also includes measures to remove some organizations from the list of statutory consultees who are legally required to provide advice on planning decisions.
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