Reality with Reeves, Aspiration with Angela – My reflection on the Chancellor’s Statement and the changes to the NPPF

It’s often said that every cloud has a silver lining, and that was especially relevant in the last few days.

In case you missed it, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, set out a plan to cut public spending to stabilise in her words ‘The worst economic inheritance since the second world war’.

With all the doom and gloom surrounding the economy, it was only right that we were hit with a Ray-ner of sunshine with positive changes to the NPPF. But what does it all mean?

My mother always said give me the bad news first, and I’ve always obliged. The Chancellor’s speech had little in the way of optimism, with one of the main headlines being that major infrastructure projects are being scrapped due to pressures on the public purse. The A303 and A27 road projects axed, and several rail links put on hold, desperately disappointing those communities who believed they would be back with Labour in charge. This, on the same day that junior doctors were given a 22.5% pay rise over two years. Whilst it was clear that Labour was inheriting problems left by the Conservative government, even this Labour member was shocked at how extensive infrastructure had been shelved.

On one hand, I feel a great sense of disappointment at the shelving of these strategically important construction and infrastructure projects. It’s often the case that housebuilding and development in general is driven by infrastructure investment, and more infrastructure is desperately needed, not just for communities to use, but for local authorities to meet their housing targets. However, there is a clear contrast to what was promised in the manifesto with new infrastructure to what is now achievable. A contrast that affects generations to come. With no clear steer on whether those projects will ever come back, it leaves me wondering if they will be delivered at all and with it, all of the added development that comes with new infrastructure i.e. new homes, retail, commercial space etc.

And now the good news, starting with a headline of the key points of the NPPF:

  • The reinstatement of mandatory housing targets.
  • An increase in the number of homes delivered from 300,000 to 370,000 per year.
  • A new consultation on changes to the Right to Buy scheme.
  • London’s housing requirement has been reduced due to the removal of the 35% urban uplift. The new target will be around 80,000 per year.

The Government have, for now, stuck to one of their central missions of reforming the planning system. On Tuesday, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government, Angela Rayner MP,  set out a ‘YIMBY’ National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). This NPPF is not going to be liked by rural communities, and that’s the point. In her speech to the Commons, she said that the last government ‘ducked the difficult decisions’ (which they undoubtedly did) and that the narrative “should be about how to deliver new homes, not whether to”. Music to my ears.

However, there are some challenges in the NPPF which need a little bit more clarity. One of the elements that caught my eye was ‘Local authorities will have to review their green belt if needed to meet their housing targets’. We knew before the General Election that Labour favoured green belt development in the right circumstances to meet housing need, and they’ve followed through. On green belt land, the Labour Government will mandate that 50% affordable housing must be delivered, which makes the loss of green belt much more tolerable. However, under the current economic climate, many homebuilders are struggling to deliver any affordable housing at all. Unless interest rates and construction costs go down, it’s hard to see how many homebuilders can deliver 50% affordable homes on the green belt.

The changes to the NPPF are a good first step in driving economic growth, which is Labour’s central mission in government. It’s refreshing to see a government who wants to get Britain building, and it’s clear they want to work with private sector developers to match their ambition. There is now an impetus on developers to feed into the NPPF consultation and make their voice heard.

Overall, there are always two sides to the coin. On one side, the Chancellor, albeit not wanting to, delivered a stark message to the public. Tough decisions will have to be made, and hard times lay ahead. There is no easy fix to the economy and stabilisation takes time, but it appears that with Angela Rayner’s statement on Tuesday, there is sun over the horizon. For years and years, the built environment sector has been crying out for reform and, I say with bated breath, this could be it. A fresh approach to the green belt, a reinstatement of housing targets, and many other elements lead me to believe that positive change is coming. However, it’s early and of course, the devil will be in the detail.

 

Image credit: Picture by Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/