Advertisement
Become a member of the Big Issue community
JOIN
Housing

Starmer promises planning passports will put 'rocket boosters' on Labour housebuilding efforts

New housing measure will give planning proposals that boost cities automatic greenlight as Labour promise ‘decent homes for all’

Keir Starmer delivering a speech

Keir Starmer has set out new measures to tackle the housing crisis ahead of hs speech in Liverpool at the Labour Party Conference. Image: Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street

Prime minister Keir Starmer has announced ‘planning passports’ that will see development proposals automatically approved if they meet design and quality standards as part of Labour’s housebuilding drive.

The party leader, speaking as Labour held its party conference, said the new measure will take a brownfield-first approach in aiming to accelerate urban densification with a focus on building more apartment blocks in cities.

The announcement comes as the party is still grappling with how to deliver its promised 1.5 million new homes while in power to tackle a housing crisis that has seen private rents skyrocket, house prices out of reach for many and surging homelessness.

“The dream of homeownership has been out of reach for so many hard working people for far too long. Housebuilding has stalled and planning changes blocked. The country has been held back,” said Starmer.

“My Labour government is turning that on its head, giving more people the security they need to build the future they deserve. Working alongside our mayors and local leaders, the new planning passports will put rocket boosters under housebuilding. They mean that where development proposals meet design and quality standards, the default answer will be yes, not no.

“Because I mean what I said before the election: Labour are the party of aspiration, security and growth. We don’t shy away from tough decisions. We are the builders, not the blockers.”

Advertisement
Advertisement

Labour has already begun planning reforms through reintroducing mandatory housebuilding targets and a consultation on the national planning policy framework that closes this week.

The party has said it will focus on building on disused brownfield land as well as targeting the grey belt – parts of the green belt that are being under-utilised like old car parks.

The ‘planning passport’ scheme will fast-track any proposal that meets high standards for design and quality through the planning process. Labour said any proposal that meets that criteria will see planning authorities required to give a default answer of ‘yes’.

The party has set out a call for evidence on the plans but said denser cities are key to economic growth.

Building efforts within existing city boundaries drive growth due to people being closer to work and better transport infrastructure, Labour argued, while giving businesses the widest talent pool. 

Ministers pointed to the “gentle density” of Kensington and Chelsea in London, Manchester’s Northern Quarter or Edinburgh New Town as examples. 

Meanwhile, deputy prime minister Angela Rayner laid out Labour’s commitment to “decent homes for all” in her speech to Labour’s party conference on Sunday (22 September).

Rayner called for a ‘council house revolution’ back in July and also teased plans to reform the Right to Buy scheme. Labour has since introduced the Renters’ Rights Bill to parliament while Rayner will chair a new cross-government taskforce to end homelessness.

At the conference in Liverpool, the housing secretary launched a consultation on a new decent homes standard for social and private rented homes and said the government will bring legislation to extend the reach of Awaab’s Law this autumn.

A remediation acceleration plan will also be brought forward before the end of the year to fix unsafe cladding and fire safety defects on thousands of homes. The move comes following the Grenfell Tower Inquiry final report earlier this month.

“We’ve inherited a Tory housing crisis. This Labour government is taking a wave of bold action to not only build the housing our country needs and boost social and affordable housing, but to ensure all homes are decent, safe, and warm,” said Rayner.

“For Labour this is not just about building houses at any cost but making houses people can call home. This means ending the scandalous situation where standards for existing and future tenants don’t currently even meet the minimum of safety and decency everyone should expect.”

Following Rayner’s announcement, Shelter’s Polly Neate reiterated the call for the government to set a public target for the number of social rent homes to be built each year.

The housing charity has called for 90,000 of the most affordable homes to be built annually and, while Labour has promised to prioritise them, there has been little indication of how many will be delivered.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter said: “We need bold and ambitious action to tackle the housing emergency head on, so it’s promising to see the government take steps in the right direction.

“For too long, housing has been neglected, under regulated and underfunded while generation after generation face the consequences. 

“Making sure that homes are safe and fit for the future is vital, but the government will never succeed in giving everyone a decent home until it invests in the genuinely affordable social homes this country needs. That’s why it must set a clear target for social rent homes to end the housing emergency for good.”

Crisis’s Matt Downie said consulting on a decent homes standard is “long overdue”. He added: “Creating a stable future for this country starts with ensuring everyone has a secure home and we look forward to working with the new government to make it happen.”

Big Issue is demanding an end to extreme poverty. Will you ask your MP to join us?

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us moreBig Issue exists to give homeless and marginalised people the opportunity to earn an income. To support our work buy a copy of the magazine or get the app from the App Store or Google Play.

Advertisement

Become a Big Issue member

3.8 million people in the UK live in extreme poverty. Turn your anger into action - become a Big Issue member and give us the power to take poverty to zero.

Recommended for you

View all
Renters kicked out by no-fault evictions pay thousands to find a new home: 'It's totally unjust'
Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner
RENTING

Renters kicked out by no-fault evictions pay thousands to find a new home: 'It's totally unjust'

Habitual residence test: How to get help with housing
housing

Habitual residence test: How to get help with housing

What happens at a possession hearing?
eviction

What happens at a possession hearing?

Cost of building homes higher than house prices in one in five areas after 'years of inflation'
Stock image of British houses
Housing

Cost of building homes higher than house prices in one in five areas after 'years of inflation'

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know