Over the weekend, it was briefed by Ministers that they were looking to effectively abolish planning committees on local councils. It is evident that they were doing so in order to make up ground on their target of building 1.5 million new homes before the next election.
I have deep reservations about this policy. As they had only been briefed to the media, I secured an Urgent Question this afternoon in the House to challenge Ministers on these proposals.
Local authorities have always played an important role in our planning system as they give locally elected councillors a say over planning applications. Despite the rhetoric, these bodies do not prevent homes from being built. As I outlined, the vast majority of decisions are already made in a timely manner and this gimmick will do little to reduce the barriers facing developers. If the Government is serious about housebuilding, they need to stop undermining the sector through tax rises and address the actual challenges they face.
We are expecting further announcements over this week and I look forward to scrutinising these proposals as they are announced.
