Councils and Mayors will be given new powers to force landowners to sell land for GP surgeries, schools and affordable housing from early next year.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed says he wants make it easier for local authorities and England’s 14 metro mayors to seize land without approval from central government in order to speed up the process of Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs).
The powers would be used when building on the land is deemed to be “in the public interest” – for example, social housing and community health hubs – but would not be used for private developments, it is understood.
Reed said he was “pulling the lever” of CPOs to help “young people struggling to find somewhere to rent or buy” as well as rough sleepers and “families trapped in so-called temporary accommodation for years”.
He added: “It means new homes, schools, GP surgeries in places where families can lay roots, watch their children grow, and feel a real sense of pride in their communities.”
It comes after housing minister Matthew Pennycook told The i Paper last year that the Government wanted to reform the “outdated” CPO system because it “inflated the cost of land to the benefit of speculators”, who buy land in strategic locations, such as near transport hubs, and wait for it to increase in value.
Landowners would be forced to sell sites at a “fair price”, which will not factor in the “hope value” – a price premium on sites that are likely to be granted planning permission.
CPOs currently take an average of two years from starting negotiations in cases where there are objections to land being acquired.
However, changes in the Government’s Planning and Infrastructure Act, which received Royal Assent this week, will further streamline the process by allowing final decisions to be made by planning inspectors, rather than needing sign-off from Whitehall.
The orders can be contentious, however, as they allow public bodies to override the interests of local landowners and can result in lengthy legal challenges.
Neil Jefferson, chief executive of the Home Builders Federation, which represents private developers, has previously warned enhanced powers could “disincentivise landowners and developers” from investing in sites if not used “responsibly”.
It comes as the Government this week announced changes to planning rules that will make it harder for councils to block the building of new homes and grant some developments automatic planning approval, such as housing near well-connected train stations.
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The planning reforms have been welcomed by pro-development groups, but environmental campaigners have accused the Government of failing to protect nature by weaking rules forcing developers to create 1o per cent more space for nature on site than there was before building took place.
Wildlife and Countryside Link, England’s largest environmental coalition, said it would allow developers to “dodge their environmental responsibilities”.
The changes come as Labour seeks to hit its target of building 1.5m new homes by 2029. Around 200,000 new homes were built during Labour’s first year in office, well below the 300,000 a year rate needed over the course of this Parliament.
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