Housing industry welcomes Chancellor’s planning shake-up

The Government has released proposals to tackle the UK planning system with a view to speeding up house building as part of its Productivity Plan. The Chancellor George Osborne last week said that the Government is changing the country’s planning laws to make it easier for house builders to develop more residential properties. Under the new plan, planning consent would be granted automatically on suitable disused industrial land, limiting delays to development, under the reforms, while a higher number of brownfield plots could also be seized for development through new compulsory purchase powers. What’s more, major infrastructure projects that feature new homes will be fast-tracked to meet local housing demands. “Britain has been incapable of building enough homes,” said George Osborne. “The reforms we made to the planning system in the last parliament have started to improve the situation: planning permissions and housing starts are at a seven-year high.” “But we need to go further and I am not prepared to stand by when people who want to get on the housing ladder can’t do so,” he added. The Chancellor’s planning changes were described as a “major step towards solving the housing crisis” by Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the…