黑洞社区

Waiting in the art deco corridors of the Royal Institute of British Architects鈥� central London HQ for a tardy Michael Gove to unveil a much-delayed National Planning Policy Framework, one journalist remarked to another that it would not feel like Christmas without a major policy announcement from the divisive secretary of state. 

Indeed, it was around this time last year 鈥� while trying to secure support for his Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 鈥� that Gove announced his intention to make housing targets for local authorities advisory rather than mandatory. 

In the end, yesterday鈥檚 speech at 99 Portland Place was a classic of the Govian genre, complete with stirring allusions to Britain鈥檚 past greatness, regular jabs at his Labour opponents and a general disregard for any vested interest that might think he has taken the wrong tack.

Attempt to spin binning of targets falls flat with industry

The expected confirmation that mandatory targets would be effectively binned was in there too, no matter how hard the secretary of state tried to cover it with tough-sounding resolutions to crack down on underperforming planning authorities. The move gives councils flexibility to depart from housing targets. Instead of being calculated through a central formula, from which councils can only depart with strong reasons, the targets would instead become merely an advisory 鈥渟tarting point鈥� .

While Gove鈥檚 attempt to claim that local housing targets had never, in theory, been compulsory was always likely to fall on deaf ears, he might have hoped to fare better in appeasing the housebuilding sector with new measures to ensure local plan making gets done. 

He said there would be 鈥渘o excuse鈥� for local authorities not to have a local plan in place and ordered those without one to explain to his department in the coming months when they could put one in place. He also accused some of 鈥済aming the system鈥� by using 鈥渆xtension of time鈥� agreements to slow down the system, promising to crack down on this practice. 

>> Read more: Gove officially waters down housing targets

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities also wrote to seven of the worst performers yesterday 鈥� Ashfield, Amber Valley, St Albans, Medway, Uttlesford, Basildon and Castle Point 鈥� instructing them to send him a local plan timetable within the next 12 months setting out when councillors can expect to adopt a new policy. Gove threatened to intervene 鈥渢o ensure that a plan is put in place鈥� if the seven fail to comply. Another council, West Berkshire, was warned not to withdraw its local plan, having convened an extraordinary council meeting to discuss doing so. 

While the department is taking a severe stance on errant local authorities, people in the sector are waiting to see if the government follows through. One figure within the House Builders Federation noted that Sajid Javid, Gove鈥檚 predecessor, had written to a dozen local authorities, to little effect, and speculated that the crackdown on extensions of time, without being backed up by more resource in planning departments, might simply lead to more rejections. 

Despite all this, Gove insisted he was 鈥渃onfident鈥� that the government could meet its manifesto pledge to build 300,000 homes each year and said housebuilding rates would increase 鈥渙nce we get back to a normal level of interest rates and mortgage鈥�.

The sector will wonder, as shadow housing minister Matthew Pennycook did in the Commons later in the day, whether that target is 鈥渁live in name only鈥�. 黑洞社区鈥檚 sister publication Housing Today鈥檚 campaign is calling on the government to properly re-commit to the pledge with a plan of action to boost housebuilding.

Yes, In The Opposition鈥檚 Back Yard

Gove鈥檚 affirmative answer to an audience member鈥檚 question about whether he considers himself a YIMBY (Yes In My Back Yard) was sure to have triggered some raised eyebrows in the housing industry but claims that the NPPF is a 鈥淣IMBYs charter鈥� seem a slightly uncharitable characterisation. 

A more cynical, perhaps more accurate and certainly more unwieldy, acronym would be YITOBY (Yes, In The Opposition鈥檚 Back Yard). Indeed, the likely outcome of the latest update to planning policy is that rural Tory constituencies will have ample room to block development on the grounds of protecting green belt and local character, so long as they come up with a local plan of some kind, while more of the burden of getting anywhere close to the 300,000 homes target will fall to largely Labour voting cities.  

Gove made it clear that he expected the lion鈥檚 share of housebuilding to take place within cities, explaining that this is where the infrastructure to accommodate them already exists and singled out London and Cambridge as places he would like to see significant growth. 

In discussing London, he laid the blame squarely at Sadiq Khan鈥檚 door, slamming him for missing his London Plan target by approximately 15,000 homes each year and threatening to intervene if the mayor did not shape up.  

>> Read more: London mayor failing to provide enough affordable homes, Gove says

>> Read more: New development corporation to lead construction of 150,000 new homes in Cambridge

Gove鈥檚 approach to Cambridge 鈥� another city with a Labour MP and council 鈥� was less obviously confrontational but arguably bolder in ambition. Any development around to expand the city is likely to anger rural Conservative constituencies and the housing secretary has made it clear that an exception will need to be made to the green belt protections he has allowed elsewhere. 

In a final shot at the opposition, Gove blamed Labour for the failure of attempts to reform nutrient neutrality rules, which the HBF claims are holding back 150,000 homes across the country.

Labour peers earlier this year voted against an amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act which would have reformed the rules, despite research by planning consultant Brookbanks showing the occupants of new homes accounted for just 0.29% of total nitrogen emissions each year. Gove had indicated at the Conservative Party conference in October that he would bring a standalone bill to parliament in order to achieve the reform but admitted yesterday that he was 鈥渋ncapable of bringing forward legislation鈥� at the current time.

鈥淚鈥檓 going to do everything I can to make sure that that commitment is in our manifesto,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd when we win the next election I hope that we will be able to introduce that legislation.鈥�

>> Read more: Gove rules out changes to nutrient neutrality laws before next election

Gove hands out his end-of-year reviews鈥�

There was something in the manner of an end-of-year evaluation about parts of Gove鈥檚 speech, as he set out his disappointment with the 鈥減erformance鈥� of various participants across the planning system. 

Local authorities bore the brunt of this, with the secretary of state setting out plans to introduce 鈥渟harper accountability鈥� in the form of league tables which will show the speed of response, level of approvals and delivery against targets. 

Meanwhile, the Planning Inspectorate and statutory consultees were both told they would need to up their game. Gove revealed that the role of the latter in the planning process is to be reviewed by Sam Richards, chief executive of Britain Remade, who will take three months to look at whether the current group of consultees is right, whether performance reporting is effective and whether the absence of a consultee鈥檚 reply within an appropriate timeline should be treated as a green light rather than a red light. 

And there are more reviews to come. Planning barrister Christopher Katkowski will lead an expert panel in examining aspects of the London Plan 鈥渨hich could be preventing thousands of homes being brought forward, with a particular focus on brownfield sites in the heart of our capital鈥�. 

On infrastructure, another three month review is planned 鈥� this one looking at whether more 24/7 working should be applied to large infrastructure projects in the UK, 鈥渄rawing on lessons from countries that have already taken this step, such as Spain鈥�. 

鈥� but gets a slap on the wrist in the House of Commons

A few hours after his speech and a few miles down the road in Westminster, Gove was getting a performance review of his very own; this one delivered by deputy speaker Eleanor Laing.  

With MPs gathered to hear housing minister Lee Rowley explain the new revised NPPF, Laing said she was 鈥渟eriously concerned that the ministerial code may have been broken鈥� by Gove when he announced the new policy at a televised press conference for journalists. 

She explained that the ministerial code said that 鈥渨hen parliament is in session, the most important announcements of government policy should be made, in the first instance, in parliament鈥� and that 鈥渆very effort should be made to avoid leaving significant announcements to the last day before a recess鈥�. 

The secretary of state鈥檚 failure on both of these fronts was a 鈥渧ery serious discourtesy to the house,鈥� she said, adding that it was 鈥渘ot a trivial matter鈥�. A sheepish Rowley apologised on behalf of the department. 

Watch this space 

While Gove鈥檚 speech strayed far beyond the topic of the National Planning Policy Framework, much of what was discussed really seemed to be a trailer for policies to come. The secretary of state made several commitments but perhaps the most frequently repeated one was his promise to tell us 鈥渕ore in the new year鈥�. 

The list of things we have to look forward to includes an outline of new sources of water supply for Cambridge, a final settlement on local government finance to support local planning authorities, an explanation of how the government will reform the judicial review process to speed up the planning system and national policy statements for energy and national networks, which Gove said would be in place 鈥渂efore the end of this financial year鈥�.