Future of Cities - Future of UK Housing Supply 2022

H OW DO WE D E L I V E R MO R E H OM E S FO R OU R C I T Y O F 2 0 4 0 ?

HOW THE PLANNING SYSTEM CAN BETTER ENABLE SUSTAINABLE, LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENT

A successful planning system should govern what is delivered. Planning should ensure design standards are met, appropriate materials are used, transport matters are considered, townscape impacts are assessed, the right amenity space is provided, infrastructure requirements are well-thought out and so much more. A well governed planning system will ensure we deliver suitable homes for the city of 2040. Delivering additional homes is essential. A nimble bottom-up planning system can better enable sustainable, long-term development in our cities.

The planning system has an important role to play in enabling the right homes to be delivered in our future cities. Over the last five years, an average of 308,000 homes have been granted consent each year in England. However, we are only seeing this transition into 240,000 completed new homes. The complexity of delivering homes means some applications have to go back into planning to be revised, while others see their planning permission lapse. We therefore need to feed the delivery pipeline with a greater number of planning permissions if we are to increase housing delivery rates. Making site-by-site planning decisions is time consuming. Local plans should be agreed upon amongst communities, local authorities and developers, enabling nimble planning decisions to be made. These visions should be regularly assessed, allowing plans to adapt to the fundamental shifts we expect to see over the next few decades.

AN AVERAGE

ONLY

308,000 HOMES HAVE BEEN GRANTED CONSENT EACH YEAR IN ENGLAND

240,000 ARE TRANSITIONING INTO COMPLETED NEW HOMES

Source: Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

12 The Future of UK Housing Supply |