LONDON (Reuters) -The British government said it will make changes to its proposals to overhaul the planning system aimed at making it more pro-growth, in a move that may mitigate mounting fiscal pressures ahead of the government’s budget due next month.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has vowed to “back the builders, not the blockers” and has criticised Britain’s current planning rules as holding the country back.
The government has a target to build 1.5 million homes before the next election, due in 2029, but figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility earlier this year said the government was set to fall short, at 1.3 million more homes.
The government said it would introduce new measures in its landmark Planning and Infrastructure Bill that would help it hit the 1.5 million target.
“Our pro-growth planning bill shows we are serious about cutting red tape to get Britain building again,” finance minister Rachel Reeves said in a statement.
The changes will curb the ability of legal challenges to stall planning permissions for major housing schemes, prevent planning applications being rejected by councils while government considers whether to intervene, and would allow new reservoirs to be approved more quickly.
The changes to the bill, which next week is due to return to the upper chamber of parliament, come as the OBR finalises forecasts for the budget on November 26.
Any uplift to Britain’s forecasts could give relief to Reeves as she seeks to stick to her fiscal rules. Businesses and households are anxious about possible tax rises, though Reeves has committed not to raise income taxes.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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