Blog - 12th January 2025

Blog - 28th December 2024

In my last Blog on 28th December 2024, I discussed the government’s English devolution white paper ‘Power and Partnership: foundations for Growth’. In this blog I take a closer look at the proposals relating to housing and planning.

Planning for Housing

As part of the government’s commitment to move towards a universal system of strategic planning, all areas, both areas with a strategic authority and those without, will be required to develop spatial development strategies over a strategic geography, and within a defined timeframe.

In mayoral strategic authorities, mayors will be empowered to develop and propose the spatial development strategy, working with strategic authority members. Spatial development strategies will be approved by a majority of constituent members, including the mayor. In cases of deadlock, the mayor will have a casting vote, and where the threshold for agreement cannot be reached, mayors will be able to refer the proposal to the Secretary of State for decision.

 New flats built by Catalyst Housing in Kensington & Chelsea

In foundation strategic authorities, there will be the same requirement and priority to produce a spatial development strategy, although in some cases this may need to be agreed with neighbouring authorities. Where the strategic authority covers multiple local authorities, members will need to work together to deliver these plans, with the support of most constituent members required to adopt the proposal. Where the strategic authority is unable to reach an agreement, the Secretary of State will have power to intervene.

The government is committed to the strategic planning system being universal, so areas without strategic authorities will also need spatial development strategies.

As is already the case in London, mayors will be able to bring forward development, as well as plan for it. Once a spatial development strategy is in place, mayors will have access to development management powers allowing them to intervene in strategically important planning applications. Mayors will be able to raise a community infrastructure levy to support strategic infrastructure projects. This is a charge that can be levied by local authorities on new development and is used to help them to deliver infrastructure that is needed to support that development.

Mayors will continue to have powers to apply compulsory purchase orders and to establish mayoral development corporations (MDCs). MDCs have already been set up by metro mayors under the Localism Act 2011 and can ‘do anything (the MDC) considers appropriate for the purposes of its object’. Objectives can include developing buildings and infrastructure. The government will also extend the power to make mayoral development orders. Mayors are currently required to secure the consent of the relevant local planning authority to exercise these powers, but the government will review these arrangements.

The government will provide support for established mayoral strategic authorities to establish their own public sector land commissions, for example by providing relevant contacts with partners, departments, and stakeholders, and engagement with the government on specific barriers, opportunities, and sites.

Housing Delivery

The affordable housing investment programme is currently administered in London by the mayor, but is administered by Homes England in other areas. The white paper proposes to change this.

The government wants mayors to play an increased role in housing delivery, so all mayoral strategic authorities will be given control of grant funding to support regeneration and housing delivery. This will be part of the integrated settlement in established mayoral strategic authorities from 2026/27. Whether there will be any additional funding and whether this will be adequate to deliver the affordable homes that are needed will depend on decisions taken as part of the government’s impending spending review.

 New Bungalow built by Impact Housing in Workington

Established mayoral strategic authorities already work with Homes England through strategic place partnerships that bring together their resources. The government wants all mayoral strategic authorities to have these partnerships. In the short term, government will increase Homes England’s accountability to established mayoral strategic authorities, by giving them the ability to steer and monitor Homes England’s progress, and to escalate any issues to ministers. Homes England will move to a more regional and place-based operating model to align its structures and ways of working to devolution. Homes England will also work with foundation strategic authorities on a targeted basis to develop a shared development pipeline and joint action plan, using continuous market engagement to identify authorities with capacity for accelerating development.

The government considers that decisions on affordable housing are taken too far away from mayors’ plans and that decisions should recognise and respond to local growth plans and spatial development strategies, both in Homes England’s work to encourage pipelines of bids, and in the allocation of grant. The government is moving towards devolution of funds and delivery for affordable housing. As an interim step, established mayoral strategic authorities will be empowered, through their strategic place partnerships with Homes England, to set the strategic direction of the affordable housing programme. This will include shaping the tenure mix and identifying priority sites for development to be supported by grant. There will be a clear approach to ensuring the responsibility of Homes England to mayors and a clear framework on the specific decisions mayors will be able to take. This will include upfront indicative spend per established mayoral strategic authority, subject to suitable projects being identified.

Conclusions

The white paper makes the bold assertion that devolution will deliver more houses that are closer to infrastructure, as well as more social and affordable housing. It is claimed that devolution will achieve this as strategic authorities are not currently able to play their full role because of a lack of effective powers, both over strategic planning and affordable housing. The government clearly believes that the housing crisis has been caused by inappropriate planning policies and that, free from these constraints, private developers, housing associations and local authorities will rush to build the new homes that England needs. I am sceptical about this because I believe that there are other constraints on house building. These include the monopolistic nature of the private housing market; lack of resources in housing associations and local authorities; and lack of capacity in the construction sector. I am sceptical about whether an approach that focuses on planning rather than delivery will succeed.

If mayors can create more ‘joined up’ thinking and working between housing and other services that would be a good outcome. Those who believe in devolution will also be pleased to see mayors having more influence over the affordable housing programme. However, we will not know until the spending review is announced whether the affordable housing programme will be adequately resourced and how it will be managed to provide the significant number of new social homes that are needed.