Max Booth
Editor, Chamber UK
Last year, the Labour Party entered Government talking big and bullish on housing – wanting 1.5 million new homes built by the end of the Parliament.
During the election campaign, it was stated that New Towns would be one of the suite of measures to help conjure these homes.
In March this year, the House of Lords Built Environment Committee launched its inquiry into the delivery of New Towns. The committee is headed by Conservative Peer, Lord Gascoigne, who spoke to me in Victoria Tower Gardens.
Assessing the Planning and Infrastructure Bill
We first spoke about the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, currently, the Planning and Infrastructure Bill is making its way through the House of Lords, having been approved by the House of Commons in June.
The Bill aims to simplify and accelerate the delivery of major infrastructure, as well as housing projects. A principal focus of the Bill is unlocking pent up demand for development by reforming ungainly consent processes.
Discussing the legislation, Lord Gascoigne said: “This is an opportunity to have a big national debate – to say to people that planning, that development and housing of businesses is good, it’s good for you, it’s natural and we should be doing all we can to make it happen.”
He does, however, remain cautious in expressing his optimism for the Bill: “I think perhaps the government may have, with respect, slightly oversold the upsides to this bill.
There are big issues, I would say, that need to be tackled. There’s certainly clarity that’s needed in parts, not just on Part 3 on the environment bit, but in other parts as well for me.”
Lord Gascoigne stresses democratic consent as a key principle that will underpin the future delivery of New Towns: “The key part is working together to try to find the answers”, he says.
No silver bullets
New towns, he asserts, will not be a “silver bullet”. He said: “There are multiple issues. There’s skills, there’s funding. All of this we’ll be looking to try and tackle in the coming weeks and months because it is important that we get building the homes we need.”
There is a multitude of barriers that Lord Gascoigne identifies that are currently weighing on Britain’s builders, and consequently the entire economy – the prioritising of bats and newts over humans, endless bureaucracy, needless paperwork, endless consultations, the list goes on.
A call to local leaders
Lord Gascoigne’s message to local councillors ahead of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, and (further down the line) new towns – was a simple one.
Don’t shy away from leadership – be the person who brings homes, brings business, and brings growth to your community.
He said: “You’ll get better growth and development. It’s jobs in your area.”
He continued: “For councillors, I think they will therefore get much more involved. I want more involvement of councillors, more involvement of people in this process — to front-end as much as you can of the planning process. And so we can then build the homes that we want.”
