Weekly planning news

Government pushes ahead with forced land sales to boost affordable housing

The UK government has introduced new legislation allowing parish and town councils to acquire land through compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) at existing use value, removing “hope value” from the equation. The move, part of the newly unveiled Planning and Infrastructure Bill, is aimed at making social and affordable housing schemes more viable by reducing land costs.

Hope value – the premium landowners expect based on the potential for future planning permission – has long been a contentious issue in development. The 2022 Levelling Up and Regeneration Act introduced powers to strip it out in certain public interest cases. Now, the government is expanding this to enable smaller local councils to use CPOs for housing, provided they meet public interest criteria.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner described the Bill as delivering “seismic reforms” to speed up development and infrastructure projects. Other proposed changes include streamlining the CPO process itself—allowing notices to be served online, simplifying newspaper notification requirements, and enabling authorities to confirm CPOs in cases where no objections arise.

The reforms have divided opinion. While social landlords welcome the administrative simplifications, landowner groups warn that removing hope value could discourage land from being brought forward for development in the first place, potentially undermining the government’s housing ambitions.

With wider CPO reforms also on the table—including faster land transfer times, revised compensation rules, and stricter conditions on home loss payments—the Bill signals a clear intent to accelerate land assembly for public projects. However, the long-term impact on land supply and development viability remains to be seen.

Powering progress: Why the UK’s grid connection reforms are overdue

The UK’s energy transition is stuck in a bottleneck, but the Planning and Infrastructure bill aims to break the gridlock. Ministers are set to gain the power to push forward viable energy projects, cutting through the years-long backlog that has left developers waiting up to a decade for grid connections.

At the heart of the issue is the outdated ‘first come, first served’ system, which has seen countless low-carbon projects stuck in limbo while less viable schemes block the queue. With 714GW of electricity generation and storage projects currently waiting for a connection—far exceeding what’s needed for Net Zero—the urgency of reform is clear.

Ofgem’s proposed ‘first ready, first connected’ approach offers a pragmatic solution. Prioritising projects that are both ready to go and strategically important will help ensure that the UK can accelerate towards a cleaner, more resilient energy system. However, while Ofgem is already progressing with these reforms, the new legislation provides a crucial backstop, ensuring that momentum isn’t lost to bureaucratic inertia.

The implications for the planning sector are significant. The ability to align grid connections with strategic energy plans means that developers, local authorities, and planners will need to adapt to a more dynamic and responsive infrastructure landscape. It also raises questions about how ‘strategic importance’ will be assessed—will it favour larger projects, or will smaller, community-led renewable schemes get a fair shot?

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband’s framing of the bill as a step towards ‘clean, homegrown power’ highlights the broader stakes: a more secure energy system, less reliance on volatile global markets, and faster decarbonisation. But execution will be everything. Without clear criteria and transparent processes, there’s a risk that these new powers could create as many problems as they solve.

For now, this bill signals a long-overdue shift towards a more efficient grid connection system. If implemented effectively, it could be a game-changer for the UK’s energy ambitions. But as always, the devil will be in the detail.

Government set to limit councillor role in small-scale planning applications

The government is expected to confirm plans to prevent councillors from voting on smaller planning applications below a threshold of 10 to 100 homes, as well as on reserved matters applications, in a bid to streamline decision-making.

Proposed national delegation scheme

A consultation by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) proposed a "national scheme of delegation," where planning applications would be determined by officers if they align with local plans.

Options under consideration include:

• Delegating all applications that comply with the local plan.
• Default delegation, with exceptions for departures from the plan or applications submitted by the local authority.
• Delegation with exceptions for major unallocated developments, green belt proposals, or applications with significant objections.

A hybrid approach may also be adopted, delegating reserved matters applications and smaller developments below a set threshold.

Expected changes in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill

MHCLG will publish a second consultation alongside the upcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill. Reports suggest housing secretary Angela Rayner will push for stricter reforms, with a national rule limiting councillor involvement to only major and contentious projects.

The final threshold is expected to fall between 10 and 100 homes. Additionally, councillors may lose the ability to intervene in design details once outline permission is granted. The government hopes this will encourage small and medium-sized developers by reducing bureaucratic delays.

A government source stated: “We will modernise how planning committees work, ensuring they focus on key applications rather than small-scale projects or technical details.”

MHCLG has yet to comment on the reports. More details on the reforms can be found in Planning’s in-depth feature on the topic.