Report calls for wider delegated planning powers and new fast track for development

The Good Growth Foundation - which is a think tank aimed at boosting economic growth - said its recommendations could be implemented without primary legislation and assist the Government in achieving its goal of building 1.5 million homes before the end of this Parliament.

In its report, titled Rapid Reforms: Bringing growth to the front door, the foundation recommended the following four reforms:

1. Delegated planning decisions - Empower professional planners to approve developments consistent with local plans without committee input. Extend delegation to mid-rise developments in metro mayoral areas and medium-sized sites (10–50 homes) to ensure timely, rules-based decisions.
2. A new fast track for development - Activate National Development Management Policies (NDMPs) to create clear, national planning rules. NDMPs take precedence over conflicting local plans and could encourage development near transport hubs, on brownfield sites, and in areas of high demand, delivering homes where they are needed and improving affordability.
3. Major project homes - Lift the 500-home limit on housing consents linked to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs). By delivering thousands of homes alongside projects like East-West Rail and the Transpennine Route Upgrade, this policy could catalyse the creation of well-connected communities across growth corridors.
4. Street votes for local projects - Enable communities to approve home extensions and infill developments via street votes, providing localised, democratic support for densification. This will unlock small-site development in suburbs and provide new opportunities for SME builders.

The report claimed that adopting the reforms could deliver an additional 229,000 to 280,000 homes over four years, "outpacing even the impact of recent changes to the National Planning Policy Framework".

It said that the reforms could be implemented quickly through existing bills, statutory instruments, and guidance and would not require any primary legislation.

Commenting on the proposals in a foreword to the report, Labour MP Chris Curtis, who is also Chair of the Labour Growth Group, urged the Government to go further than its recent planning reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework.

He said: "The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, already having proved itself an engine of growth in reforming the NPPF, therefore has another clear opportunity to provide fiscal headroom to invest in our public services.

"By enacting additional swift, no-cost planning reforms to unlock housing delivery within this Parliament we will be tackling the housing crisis with the gravity it requires, whilst also delivering tangible, real growth for people all over the country."

He added: "This paper set out by the Good Growth Foundation provides a route forward; by identifying ways to utilise draft and existing legislation, it offers a swift way to deliver more housing and headroom."

Adam Carey