Gove reveals major plans for new home delivery

Housing secretary Michael Gove has announced a series of measures aimed at easing the path to the delivery of new homes, seeking to unblock planning and help build “more homes in the right places where there is local consent”.

Gove also confirmed that the 300,000 new homes a year target was still in place, while in a separate speech prime minister Rishi Sunak said that the government will meet its manifesto commitment to build one million homes over the course of this parliament. Under these proposals the government wants to see these new homes built in cities rather than the countryside.

Gove’s announcements today include launching a £24 million planning skills delivery fund aimed at clearing backlogs and getting the right planning skills in place, as well as setting up what he dubbed a new “super-squad” team of planners and other experts charged with working across the planning system to unblock major housing developments. To help deliver this, developers will be asked to contribute more through fees.

This new planning team will first be deployed in Cambridge where the government plans a new urban quarter to “unlock the city’s full potential as a source of innovation and talent. Working …