The proposed target is 3,683 new homes annually – down from the current target of 5,160 homes a year reports Sonja Tutty, Data Reporter and David Floyd

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner – (Credit – Radar)

The government’s latest housing target for Barnet aims for almost 1,500 fewer new homes a year than the previous goal, new figures show – despite plans to build more homes across the country.

Housing Secretary Angela Rayner will make local housing targets mandatory again, as she unveiled an overhaul of England’s planning rules to help deliver Labour’s promise of 1.5m new homes by 2029.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government figures show the proposed target for Barnet has been set at 3,683 new homes annually – down from the current target of 5,160 homes a year.

However, across England, councils will now have to plan for around 370,000 homes annually, instead of the previous 305,000.

Rayner said: “Our decisive reforms to the planning system correct the errors of the past and set us on our way to tackling the housing crisis, delivering 1.5 million homes for those who really need them.”

“And something I am personally proud of, our new flexibilities for councils will boost the number of social and affordable homes, and give working families a better route to a secure home.”

London was the only region to see its target cut, falling from 98,820 homes a year to 80,690.

Rayner defended the cut to London’s annual homes target, saying the previous ambition “based on an arbitrary uplift was absolute nonsense” and that the Mayor of London “is determined to rise to” the new target.

Sam Richards, chief executive of pro-growth campaign group Britain Remade, said the revised National Planning Policy Framework contains “a number of necessary changes”, but added it is a “mistake” to cut London’s target.

He added: “London has Britain’s most acute housing shortage, and cities across the world show that 100,000 homes per year can be done.”

Dan Tomlinson: “previous government’s targets so high as to be impossible”

However, commenting on the changes, the newly-elected Labour MP for Chipping Barnet Dan Tomlinson told Barnet Post that the new targets reflected a move away from the politically-motivated approach of the outgoing Conservative administration.

He said: “The previous government’s targets were implemented with one objective, to be so high as to be almost impossible for Sadiq Khan to meet them.”

He added:”Rather than play politics with this important issue, Labour is proposing a reasonable approach for communities in Outer London. We’ll also reform planning so new homes come with infrastructure that we desperately need.”

The reforms make explicit that the default answer to brownfield development should be “yes” and promote housebuilding at greater densities in urban centres, like towns and cities.

However, because there is not enough brownfield land in the country to meet housing needs, the government will allow the targeted release of so-called grey belt land, which includes disused petrol stations and car parks on parts of protected land known as the green belt.

Any green belt land released will be subject to “golden rules” to ensure the development delivers 50% affordable homes with a focus on social rent, and has access to green spaces and infrastructure such as schools and GP surgeries.

The method for local authorities to calculate how much land they must allocate for new housing, which relied on data from 2014, will be updated to ensure stock is boosted in every part of the country.

Rayner said: “Rather than relying on outdated data, this new method will require local authorities to plan for homes proportionate to the size of existing communities, and it will incorporate an uplift where house prices are most out of step with local incomes.”

Victoria Hills, chief executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute, said the proposed changes “have the potential to rebuild trust in our planning system”.

She added: “It is particularly encouraging to see the Government placing a much-needed emphasis on strategic planning, which can help deliver more coherent – not piecemeal – urban expansions by integrating new housing with transportation, energy, and public services.”

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