Starmer promises planning passports will put 'rocket boosters' on Labour housebuilding efforts

Prime minister Keir Starmer has announced ‘planning passports’ that will see development proposals automatically approved if they meet design and quality standards as part of Labour’s housebuilding drive.

The party leader, speaking as Labour held its party conference, said the new measure will take a brownfield-first approach in aiming to accelerate urban densification with a focus on building more apartment blocks in cities.

The announcement comes as the party is still grappling with how to deliver its promised 1.5 million new homes while in power to tackle a housing crisis that has seen private rents skyrocket, house prices out of reach for many and surging homelessness.

“The dream of homeownership has been out of reach for so many hard working people for far too long. Housebuilding has stalled and planning changes blocked. The country has been held back,” said Starmer.

“My Labour government is turning that on its head, giving more people the security they need to build the future they deserve. Working alongside our mayors and local leaders, the new planning passports will put rocket boosters under housebuilding. They mean that where development proposals meet design and quality standards, the default answer will be yes, not no.

“Because I mean what I said before the election: Labour are the party of aspiration, security and growth. We don’t shy away from tough decisions. We are the builders, not the blockers.”

Labour has already begun planning reforms through reintroducing mandatory housebuilding targets and a consultation on the national planning policy framework that closes this week.

The party has said it will focus on building on disused brownfield land as well as targeting the grey belt – parts of the green belt that are being under-utilised like old car parks.

The ‘planning passport’ scheme will fast-track any proposal that meets high standards for design and quality through the planning process. Labour said any proposal that meets that criteria will see planning authorities required to give a default answer of ‘yes’.

The party has set out a call for evidence on the plans but said denser cities are key to economic growth.

Building efforts within existing city boundaries drive growth due to people being closer to work and better transport infrastructure, Labour argued, while giving businesses the widest talent pool. 

Ministers pointed to the “gentle density” of Kensington and Chelsea in London, Manchester’s Northern Quarter or Edinburgh New Town as examples. 

Meanwhile, deputy prime minister Angela Rayner laid out Labour’s commitment to “decent homes for all” in her speech to Labour’s party conference on Sunday (22 September).

Rayner called for a ‘council house revolution’ back in July and also teased plans to reform the Right to Buy scheme. Labour has since introduced the Renters’ Rights Bill to parliament while Rayner will chair a new cross-government taskforce to end homelessness.

At the conference in Liverpool, the housing secretary launched a consultation on a new decent homes standard for social and private rented homes and said the government will bring legislation to extend the reach of Awaab’s Law this autumn.

A remediation acceleration plan will also be brought forward before the end of the year to fix unsafe cladding and fire safety defects on thousands of homes. The move comes following the Grenfell Tower Inquiry final report earlier this month.

“We’ve inherited a Tory housing crisis. This Labour government is taking a wave of bold action to not only build the housing our country needs and boost social and affordable housing, but to ensure all homes are decent, safe, and warm,” said Rayner.

“For Labour this is not just about building houses at any cost but making houses people can call home. This means ending the scandalous situation where standards for existing and future tenants don’t currently even meet the minimum of safety and decency everyone should expect.”

Following Rayner’s announcement, Shelter’s Polly Neate reiterated the call for the government to set a public target for the number of social rent homes to be built each year.

The housing charity has called for 90,000 of the most affordable homes to be built annually and, while Labour has promised to prioritise them, there has been little indication of how many will be delivered.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter said: “We need bold and ambitious action to tackle the housing emergency head on, so it’s promising to see the government take steps in the right direction.

“For too long, housing has been neglected, under regulated and underfunded while generation after generation face the consequences. 

“Making sure that homes are safe and fit for the future is vital, but the government will never succeed in giving everyone a decent home until it invests in the genuinely affordable social homes this country needs. That’s why it must set a clear target for social rent homes to end the housing emergency for good.”

Crisis’s Matt Downie said consulting on a decent homes standard is “long overdue”. He added: “Creating a stable future for this country starts with ensuring everyone has a secure home and we look forward to working with the new government to make it happen.”

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