The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) have announced a series of initiatives aimed at providing a much-needed boost to the housing market, centred around increasing supply.
Among the announcements:
- Commitment to creating 1 million new homes during the current government – building on RICS calls to reinstate house-building targets.
- £800 million is being spent to unlock 56,000 new homes on brownfield sites while strengthening the importance of placemaking and infrastructure on major developments.
- A consultation on reforming local plans, to make them simpler, shorter and more visual, showing clearly what is planned in local areas so communities can engage.
- Supporting the backlog of planning applications by creating ‘super-squad’ planning teams who will be deployed across the planning system to unlock applications – echoing a long-term call from RICS.
- Communities having a greater say on local needs and contributions from developers, with the Office for Place driving forward the change.
- Greater opportunity to convert non-domestic properties into residential by reforming the planning system.
- Relaxation on planning rules for domestic extensions and building upwards.
- Expansion of building safety measures by introducing new regulations on second staircases for high-rise residential blocks.
Source: RICS – https://www.rics.org/news-insights/dluhc-housing-announcement-response-july-2023
