London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Planning Bill: Why do house building proposals face a backlash?

Planning Bill: Why do house building proposals face a backlash?

The government has put sweeping changes to England's planning rules at the heart of its plan to increase house building.

Ministers insist the current system needs a radical shake-up to ensure more homes and vital infrastructure are delivered.

But the proposals have prompted a backlash, with some Conservatives citing them as a factor in local and by-election defeats for the party.

What's going on?


The government wants to make controversial changes to the rules that determine house building and land use in England in a new Planning Bill.

The legislation was outlined at the Queen's Speech in May, with detailed plans expected to be published later this year.

Ministers say the current system, still largely based on laws passed after the Second World War, has become outdated and ineffective.

As a devolved issue, the planning rules in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are set by politicians there.

What are the new proposals?


Although ministers are still working on the exact plans, a blueprint for the overhaul was published by the government last summer.

It would see the current regime - where local planning officials assess applications case-by-case - replaced with new rules based on zones.

Councils in England would have to classify all land in their area as "protected", for "renewal", or for "growth".

In protected areas, including areas of natural beauty, places at risk of flooding, and the green belt, development would generally remain restricted.

But councils would have to look favourably on development in "renewal" areas, whilst in "growth" zones, applications conforming to pre-agreed local plans would automatically gain initial approval.

Ministers say a zoning system could halve the time it takes for large developments to get planning approval


Local residents would get a say on new 10-year plans underpinning the zones, but their ability to comment on individual applications would be curtailed.

Ministers argue this will speed up the planning process, and prevent viable developments being derailed by a "small minority" of vocal opponents.

They say zoning - as used in countries including Japan, Germany and the Netherlands - gives developers more "upfront" certainty of what can be built.

In addition, each council would have to plan for a share of homes from the government's 300,000 annual house building target for England.

These quotas would be calculated by ministers and made binding - although how they would be enforced has not yet been specified.

Why have they been controversial?


Opposition parties say the plans would sideline communities from planning decisions - a criticism shared by many Conservative MPs and councillors.

They also argue that many developments that already have planning permission aren't being built, and this should be more of a priority than changing the system.

In addition, Tory MPs in particular have expressed concern at government plans for calculating the binding local house building targets.

Although the exact formula has not been set out, ministers have said it will be based on a revised version of the algorithm currently used to estimate annual housing need in different areas.

That algorithm has already proved controversial among Tory MPs - with the government backing down in December on a previous plan to tweak it.

A number in southern constituencies had warned the changes, which gave a greater weight to affordability, would have concentrated house building in the party's traditional heartlands.

Garden of England? One Tory MP has warned the changes will turn Kent "into a building site"
How has the government reacted?


Following Tory MPs' criticism, ministers unveiled a different tweak to the algorithm that placed a greater emphasis on building in urban areas and on brownfield sites.

According to planning consultancy Lichfields, it will see the planned allocation for southern England outside London drop from 137,000 to 113,700.

The capital itself will see a slight increase in its figure, with the biggest increases in Manchester, Leicester, Bradford, Derby, and Liverpool.

However, the change has failed to alleviate Tory backbenchers' unhappiness on planning. Over 90 are said to be part of a WhatsApp group to share concerns.

Manchester's annual housing planning figure has more than doubled under the new version of the algorithm
Why is it a political problem for ministers?


The government will need new legislation to bring in its proposals, meaning it has to keep its MPs onside.

Some Conservatives also believe the plans were a factor in the party's by-election defeat in the suburban seat of Chesham and Amersham, as well as notable losses in southern England at the May 2021 local elections.

But although changing course could bring some short-term respite for the government, it would also cause problems too.

Ministers have prominently argued their planning system is key to boosting house building, and "levelling up" the country through development in the Midlands and the north of England.

As well as being a key manifesto promise, this has emerged as a key plank of the party's attempt to widen its geographical appeal.

And others in the party argue that unless more housing is delivered, the party could find it difficult in the long term to attract younger voters struggling to get a foot on the property ladder.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
×