The move forms part of the government’s Plan for Change. Credit: William Perugini via Shutterstock.

The UK government has announced a series of planning changes to fast-track the delivery of new homes across the country.

These reforms are part of the Labour government’s Plan for Change, which targets the construction of 1.5 million new homes and aims to support economic growth.

Under the new proposals, local councils, mayoral combined authorities, and public bodies such as Homes England will have enhanced powers to acquire vacant and derelict land through compulsory purchase orders (CPOs).

This will enable them to buy land at fair prices, excluding inflated ‘hope value’ costs, to build much-needed homes and infrastructure.

The hope value reflects the potential future worth of land if developed, often leading to councils paying excessive amounts for land acquisition or becoming entangled in costly disputes.

The reforms are aimed at removing this in more cases, especially where social and affordable housing is planned, thus expediting the homebuilding process and helping families gain access to property ownership.

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The government is currently consulting on the proposed changes to CPOs, with the intention of speeding up decision-making, reducing costs, and ensuring fair compensation for landowners.

The eight-week consultation, open until February 2025, will gather input from builders, councils, and the sector at large, with the outcomes informing the upcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill.

These announcements follow last week’s government initiative to amend the National Planning Policy Framework.

The aim of this is to fast-track planning decisions, thereby addressing the domestic housing crisis and facilitating quicker initiation of construction projects.

Apart from setting mandatory housing targets for councils, the government is providing an additional £100m ($124.98m) next year for hiring staff and consultants, funding technical studies, and conducting site assessments.

Moreover, the Home Building Fund has been extended, with up to £700m earmarked for supporting small- and medium-sized homebuilders in their projects.

UK Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook said: “In our manifesto, we committed ourselves to further compulsory purchase reform to deliver more housing, infrastructure, amenity, and transport benefits in the public interest.

“The consultation we are launching today is the next step in fulfilling that commitment – proposing reforms that will make the process faster and more efficient, enabling more land value to be captured and then invested in schemes for public benefit.”