PM launches planning overhaul

The prime minister has today launched a major overhaul of the National Planning Policy Framework as the government turns its attention to the planning system in an attempt to increase new homes supply.

She announced a consultation into the changes which are designed to maximise the use of land, give planning authorities and developers greater responsibility to deliver homes, ensure the right homes are built and improve quality and design.

In her speech today, which also challenged housebuilders “to step up and do their bit” in converting permissions into new homes built, the PM said: “(Building more homes) requires action on many fronts, and at the very heart of the matter is the planning process. Planning professionals may not be as visible as the bricklayers and carpenters and roofers. But we cannot build the homes we need without them.

“It’s very easy for a politician to stand up and say he or she will build however many homes in however many years. But it’s an empty promise if they don’t also address the hundreds of smaller issues that underpin it.

“Where in the country will they be built? In which communities? On what sites? …