Rishi Sunak gives in to Tory housebuilding rebels: Councils get power to override new house goals

Rishi Sunak bowed to Tory rebels opposed to house building in leafy suburbs and rural areas by allowing them to overturn targets designed to help solve the UK’s house crisis.

Michael Gove announced tonight that ministers had watered down plans to set targets for new homes which would make them guidelines rather than binding numbers.

Councils will have the power to overrule the numbers if the number or density of houses in a given development would ‘significantly change the character’ of the area.

In a letter to MPs, Communities Secretary Michael Gove said the Leveling and Regeneration Bill would be amended to abolish mandatory housing construction targets.

It comes after 60 Conservative backbench MPs from wealthy areas threatened to rebel to lessen its impact.

Led by former minister Theresa Villiers, they are backing a series of amendments to the Town Planning Bill, as they try to tighten rules for building houses in the countryside and in the suburbs.

Ms Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, said: ‘These reforms will rebalance the planning system and give local communities greater influence over what is built in their area.

But the move is likely to infuriate Tories, including former ministers Sajid Javid and Simon Clarke, who have warned that failing to build more homes than young people can afford is socially damaging and politically suicidal.

The co-author of the 2019 Conservative manifesto, Robert Colville, said it would “enshrine ‘Nimbyism’ as a guiding principle of British society”.

Mr Gove said he recognizes ‘there is no really objective way of calculating how many new homes are needed in an area’ but that ‘the housing planning process has to start with a number’ .

The change would make the centrally determined target a ‘starting point’, with councils able to offer to build fewer houses if they faced ‘real constraints’ or had to build at a density which would “significantly change the character” of their area.

The bill is expected to return to the House of Commons next week for the second day of its report stage.

Ministers also announced a consultation on whether homes turned into short-term holiday rentals for rent on sites such as AirBNB should require planning permission for a change of use.

There will also be a consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) released before Christmas.

Isle of Wight MP Mr Seely said ‘well over 100 Tory MPs’ had backed the changes, which would make the government’s housing and planning agenda ‘more conservative than the one we have now “.

He said: “The new language we have agreed on will work with communities, speak to the character of areas and celebrate the beauty of good design. It understands the need for agricultural land, will significantly emphasize brownfields over the development of green areas, and help provide housing for young people.

Mr Seely dismissed accusations that the Conservative Party has nothing to offer young people, saying: ‘It’s going to be much better for young people.’

“In places like the Isle of Wight or places like the tip of Cornwall or Cumbria, it’s going to really help young people because we can say you can dramatically increase your local affordable housing targets, and that’s is specifically for young people.

“So it’s actually a really big win.

“If you’re a developer and want to sit on a property for years and years, that’s not good news for you.” But actually, if you’re a council that wants to move forward and build, and if you’re a community that wants more control over its destiny, that’s good news.

“This is good news for everyone.”

As to whether Mr Gove’s decision had been influenced by Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer telling Rishi Sunak that Labor would give him the votes he needed to pass the planning reforms, Mr Seely said: ” It had nothing to do with it.”

“The government did not want to lose 30, 40, 50 colleagues on a vote of principle. We did not want to vote against the government on principle.

“So it’s actually a win-win.”

Other changes Mr Gove agreed to include levying a higher infrastructure tax on the development of new land, taking action to prevent land set-aside and ending ‘duty to co-operate’ which forces rural and suburban areas to meet the housing needs of neighboring towns.