MHCLG issues policy paper and call to evidence on first day of Labour party conference

The government has published a working paper asking for views on its plan to introduce a system of 鈥渂rownfield passports鈥 to speed up development on urban sites.

This morning, the first day of the Labour party鈥檚 annual conference in Liverpool, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government published a working paper on the policy.

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Source: MHCLG / Flickr

Housing secretary Angela Rayner will address the Labour party conference today (Sunday)

Housing secretary Angela Rayner will address the Labour party conference today (Sunday)

It sets out proposals for 鈥渁 form of brownfield passport鈥, which would set out in greater detail what kind of development should be regarded as acceptable and establish the default answer to suitable proposals as 鈥測es鈥.

鈥淭he proposals relate to the principle, the scale, and the form of development, and to the potential wider use of Local Development Orders to grant area-wide permissions,鈥 according to the working paper.

The department hopes such a policy would reduce 鈥渢he risk, cost and uncertainty associated with securing planning permissions鈥 for developers.

Referencing the plans in an interview with the Observer today, Keir Starmer said the new system would be a 鈥済ame-changer鈥 and explained how they had been greeted with enthusiasm by housing developments.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e very pleased to see these plans. They want to get on with it. We are absolutely determined to deliver,鈥 he told the newspaper.

The department has said it will launch a call for evidence on the proposals, before drawing up specific plans on which to consult.

It comes on the back of Labour鈥檚 , which is already out for consultation.

The working paper said: 鈥淭he government wants to consider whether there are opportunities to go further still in terms of providing faster and more certain routes to permission for urban brownfield land, and in particular whether we could introduce a 鈥榖rownfield passport鈥 to ensure that the default answer to brownfield development is 鈥測es鈥

Stakeholders have until Monday to share their views on the changes.

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