Councils will be able to seize land more easily and pay owners less under reforms to compulsory purchase powers designed to boost housebuilding.
The government announced new planning changes yesterday, designed to boost fresh investment for town centres and economic growth for local communities, while making it easier and cheaper to deliver thousands of more homes across the country.
Under proposals set out by the government on Thursday, local councils across the country will be empowered to buy cheaper land through the use of Compulsory Purchase Orders and build much needed homes and infrastructure as part of the government’s Plan for Change milestone to build 1.5 million new homes while driving growth across the country.
The proposed changes mean councils, Mayoral Combined Authorities and other public bodies, including Homes England, will be able to directly take control of vacant and derelict land from landowners paying a fair price and not inflated ‘hope value’ costs, where they are delivering in the public interest. ‘Hope value’ estimates the cost land could be worth if developed on in the future, meaning many councils are often forced to pay thousands of pounds more to buy land for development or get caught in lengthy disputes over costs.
The reforms expand existing legislation allowing ‘hope value’ to be removed in more circumstances where social and affordable housing is being built, accelerating housebuilding, helping more families on to the property ladder and to get more of the social and affordable homes communities need built, as well as making a positive use of unsightly, vacant land.
Housing and planning minister, Matthew Pennycook, said: “In our manifesto, we committed ourselves to further compulsory purchase reform to deliver more housing, infrastructure, amenity, and transport benefits in the public interest.
“The consultation we are launching today is the next step in fulfilling that commitment – proposing reforms that will make the process faster and more efficient, enabling more land value to be captured and then invested in schemes for public benefit.”
Proposed changes to CPOs are now being consulted on and include proposals that aim to speed-up decision making, reduce the cost of the process and ensure the compensation paid to landowners is fair.
The eight-week consultation will consider views from builders, councils, and the wider sector before the findings are analysed and used to inform the forthcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill, to be introduced next year.
This consultation follows the government’s announcement last week to overhaul the planning system and make landmark changes to the National Planning Policy Framework. As well as new mandatory housing targets for councils, areas will receive an additional £100m next year to hire more staff and consultants as well as fund more resources to carry out technical studies and site assessments.
Property owners are presently entitled to compensation of up to £75,000 for the inconvenience of having their land taken. But ministers now say owners should be refused this compensation when they attempt to resist legal orders for compulsory purchase. Owners will also get less compensation if they do not live on the land; tenants will get more.
Sir Kier Starmer told the Commons liaison committee that councils, planning committees and local residents’ groups could all be seen as “blockers” on development. He criticised “those that say we shouldn’t have targets for housing, those that say we shouldn’t build here, those that have stood in the way for years”, insisting: “We want to build, we want to grow.”
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