Labour leader says party would reimpose housing targets and 鈥榖ack builders鈥� if elected
Keir Starmer has vowed to reform planning rules if Labour is elected to power next year, including by loosening Green Belt restrictions.
In a speech to the British Chambers of Commerce later today, the Labour leader will say Labour will back the 鈥渂uilders not the blockers鈥� by 鈥渢aking on planning reform鈥�, including by reinstating housing targets.
However, in an interview with the Times published this morning, Starmer went further, implying he would give councils the power to choose to build on green belt land if necessary in order to build homes.
His comments follow the decision before Christmas by housing secretary Michael Gove and prime minister Rishi Sunak to cave into demands from backbench MPs to water down local housing targets. Part of the deal saw Gove make current strong protections for Green Belt land in the planning system even stronger.
The Labour Party said the Starmer will say: 鈥淎 generation and its hopes are being blocked by those who - more often than not - enjoy the secure homes and jobs that they鈥檙e denying to others.鈥�
鈥淢ark my words: we will take on planning reform. We鈥檒l bring back local housing targets. We鈥檒l streamline the process for national infrastructure projects and commercial development and we鈥檒l remove the veto used by big landowners to stop shovels hitting the ground.鈥�
鈥淲e choose the builders, not the blockers; the future, not the past; renewal not decline. We choose growth.鈥�
He will say that the result of the current dysfunctional planning system is 鈥渁 doom-loop of low growth, low productivity and high taxes鈥�.
However, speaking to the Times, Starmer was more specific about the planning changes he wanted to see. He told the paper that he wanted to go further that simply reinstating housing targets, because 鈥渋f we just put the target back up, we risk going back to where they were just before Christmas, which is a very low rate of building. So, we need to go further than that and fix what is essentially a broken system.鈥�
Asked about the Green Belt, he said 鈥渨e need to have that discussion鈥�, and that councils needed to be given powers to determine where housing should go. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important for local areas to have the power to decide where housing is going to be,鈥� he said.
>> See also:
>> See also:
>> See also:
鈥淰ery often the objections that people have to housebuilding on the green belt are valid because the control by landowners and developers mean that the houses are proposed in areas where it鈥檚 quite obvious that there鈥檚 going to be a local concern.
鈥淕ive local authorities, local areas more power to decide where it will be and you alleviate that problem. So, it鈥檚 not as binary or straightforward as 鈥榞reen belt, not green belt鈥�. It鈥檚 how you direct where the housing will be.鈥�
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