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Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has officially cancelled a mandatory review of the London Plan, originally ordered by her predecessor Michael Gove.
In an open letter to London Mayor Sadiq Khan, she said that she was cancelling an order to Khan to undertake a partial review of the plan and described the decision as a “demonstration of the government’s commitment to working in partnership” with City Hall.
Using powers under the Greater London Authority Act, Gove had instructed Khan to review London’s spatial development strategy, focusing on the capital's 1,819 acres of industrial land, which the government believed could be used for housing, plus 47 so-called opportunity areas with the potential for at least 2,500 new homes.
But in her letter to Khan, Rayner countered that these issues “cannot be meaningfully considered in isolation” and said that instead they would be better considered as part of an overall review Khan is set to undertake.
“Withdrawing the direction will allow the government and the Greater London Authority to take a new partnership approach on our shared aim to deliver the homes London needs,” Rayner said.
The new government’s consultation on proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework recently closed and includes proposals that will require 90% of councils outside the capital to build more, while London’s target will drop from 100,000 homes a year to 80,000.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Matthew Pennycook has set out “seven immediate priorities” for housebuilding in an open letter to Homes England.
He urged Homes England to address the reduced rates of housebuilding the government had inherited as essential for delivering its 1.5 million new homes target and said he expected the agency to do “everything in its power” to accelerate development and increase delivery this year and next.
Pennycook said he would like appropriate support to the New Homes Accelerator to speed up delivery on large sites that are stalled or building out slowly. This activity will extend to new sites where Homes England is not currently involved but where Homes England support has been identified as the best way to accelerate delivery.
Pennycook said he expects the agency to continue to support the department’s work on new towns and other major schemes by providing expertise and advice to the New Towns Taskforce and asked the agency to maximise the number of social rent homes delivered through the Affordable Homes Programme.
In three further points, Pennycook called for Homes England to support the reform and diversification of the housing market, including sectors such as build-to-rent. He also stressed the need to “continue to focus on achieving best value for money for the taxpayer” and called for collaboration to make the case for an “ambitious package of housing interventions at the Budget and Spending Review.”
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