Delivering the homes people need

The government has announced the most radical reforms to our planning system since the Second World War, making it easier to build better homes where people want to live.  New regulations will give greater freedom for buildings and land in our town centres to change use without planning permission and create new homes from the regeneration of vacant and redundant buildings.

Kick-starting the construction industry and speed up rebuilding. New rules will mean existing commercial properties, including newly vacant shops, can be converted into residential housing more easily.   Work will begin to look at how land owned by the government can be managed more effectively through a new ambitious cross-government strategy to look at how public sector land can be put to better use including new homes, contributing to net zero goals and injecting growth opportunities into communities across the country.   Confirming a £12 billion affordable homes programme that will support up to 180,000 new affordable homes for ownership and rent over the next 8 years.   A pilot of 1,500-unit ‘First Homes’ that will be sold to local first time buyers at a 30 per cent discount. These will remain in perpetuity, keeping them affordable for generations of families to own.     Allocating funds from the £400 million Brownfield Land Fund. Today we have confirmed the allocation of funds to the West Midland, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region, Sheffield City Region, North of Tyne and Tees Valley to support around 24,000 homes.   Expanding the Home Builders Fund to help smaller developers access finance for new housing. Developments will receive additional £450 million boost. This is expected to support delivery of around 7,200 new homes.   Launching a planning Policy Paper in July setting out our plan for comprehensive reform of England’s seven-decade old planning system to introduce a new approach that works better for our modern economy and society.   Bringing forward a Local Recovery White Paper later this year to support our recovery. We will detail how the UK government will work with communities across the county to build a sustainable economic recovery.