Hunt announces nutrient funding and planning measures – Autumn Statement

The government will provide funding for nutrient mitigation schemes and speed up planning applications, the chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced in his Autumn Statement, delivered today (November 22).

In the statement, the government confirmed £110 million under its Local Nutrient Mitigation Fund to help release up to 40,000 homes over the next five years that have been halted by nutrient neutrality requirements.

And in his address, the chancellor said that for major planning applications, local authorities would be able to recover the full costs in exchange for meeting faster timelines.

Under these new “premium planning services,” if councils fail to meet the guaranteed accelerated decision date, the application will be processed for free with fees refunded.

"A prompt service or your money back - just as would be the case in the private sector”, Hunt stated.

The Mortgage Guarantee Scheme will be extended until the end of June 2025. The scheme, which supports the availability of 95% loan-to-value mortgage products, was due to close on December 31 2023.

The government will also invest an extra £32 million across housing and planning to “unlock thousands of homes across the country”.

This includes further funding to clear application backlogs …