MHLCG believes 300,000 homes can be built across large sites
The government is aiming to speed up development on around 200 stalled sites by setting up a dedicated team of officials to help remove barriers to delivery.
The unit, which ministers are calling the New Homes Accelerator, will consist of around 15 dedicated officials across MHCLG and Homes England. It will be fully operational by the end of September but has started on some work now.
MHCLG said today it has identified 200 large, stalled sites with the potential for 300,000 homes.
The team of officials, which will be a mix of internal and external recruits, will work with local authorities and housebuilders to resolve local issues that are holding up development plans. It will deploy planning experts on the ground 鈥渢o work through blockages鈥� at each site identified. It could provide resources to support local planning departments where there are barriers.
MHCLG has also today called for landowners, councils and housebuilders to come forward with details of blocked sites that have significant planning issues, so the government 鈥渃an better understand the scale of the problem across the country鈥�.
MHCLG is also expected to retain Michael Gove鈥檚 拢13m 鈥榮uper squad鈥� of planners to support large-scale development in addition to the new team.
Angela Rayner, housing secretary and deputy prime minister, said: 鈥淔or far too long the delivery of tens of thousands of new homes has been held back by a failure to make sure the development system is working as it should.
鈥淭his government has a moral obligation to do everything within our power to build the homes that people desperately need and we won鈥檛 hesitate to intervene where we need to.
>>See also: The ins and outs of Labour鈥檚 new National Planning Policy Framework
>>See also: A boost for housebuilding or an ill-defined gimmick?: Labour鈥檚 鈥榞rey belt鈥� plans explained
鈥淥ur New Homes Accelerator will quickly identify blockages, fix problems and support local authorities and developers to get shovels in the ground.鈥�
Meanwhile, housing minister Matthew Pennycook has written an open letter to local leaders in Cambridge pledging to work collaboratively to boost housing in the are. Housing targets across South Cambridgeshire, Cambridge and Cambridge East are seeing a proposed increase of around 25 per cent.
He said: 鈥淕reater Cambridge has a vital role to play in this government鈥檚 mission to kickstart economic growth. However, we realise that many crucial decisions remain to be made about the precise form that ambitious and high-quality sustainable growth takes in the area. I am determined that we take a collaborative approach to them.鈥�
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