Housebuilding

Lord Young of Cookham Excerpts

Thursday 21st September 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)]

My Lords, I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the noble Lord for his public service over many years as a councillor in Bredbury, a Member of Parliament in the West Midlands and, indeed, chair of Stockport County Football Club back in the day. I accept that it is vital that local planning authorities have the resources they need to provide an effective planning service. We did consult on a proposal to ring-fence the fee increase, and I recognise that it is strongly supported. However, we are not taking ring-fencing forward as it would overly restrict the local authorities. In relation to housing targets, the Secretary of State’s Written Ministerial Statement published on 6 December 2022 confirmed that the standard method of assessing local housing need will be retained. National planning policy continues to expect local authorities to follow the standard method to make sufficient provision for housing and identify the sites that will deliver much-needed homes to meet the needs of our communities across the United Kingdom.

[Lord Young of Cookham (Con)]

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Snape, rightly refers to the resources that planning departments need to draw up their local plan, but they also need the political will to deliver this. Last week the Housing Minister rightly rebuked Spelthorne Borough Council, which is under independent control, for not updating its plan for 14 years and failing to meet housing need. Will the Government take equally robust action against any council, of whatever colour, if it fails to meet the ambitions the Government have aspired to of 300,000 homes a year?

[Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)]

My noble friend and former Chief Whip is exactly right. He is a formidable campaigner on issues of home building. I pay tribute to my right honourable friend the Minister for Housing, who is absolutely right; the current Spelthorne local plan is nearly 15 years old, meaning that the policies in it will not be up to date. Withdrawing the plan from examination could lead only to significant further delay and additional expense while a new plan is prepared. Local authorities are more at risk from appeals and speculative planning applications being successful if they do not have a local plan setting out an up-to-date housing requirement, as the presumption in favour of sustainable development applies. Intervening in this plan will accelerate plan production, given that the current plan is submitted and an examination will ensure that an up-to-date plan is in place sooner, therefore preventing speculative developments taking place. Local plans should be reviewed every five years. The good people of Spelthorne should expect better from their local politicians of all colours.