Places and people are why I entered politics. When I decided to run for council leader three years after I first entered local politics, after a decade of Conservative government and cuts to local authorities, I campaigned on a platform of reversing the decline and stagnant growth my local area faced. Regeneration and planning became a cornerstone of my ambition from leading council-led regeneration, which included thousands of genuinely affordable homes, to progressing a new Local Plan that designated space for 30,000 new homes alongside new schools, GP surgeries and parks.
Importantly, part of the Local Plan that I led on included re-designating green belt land for housing. Far from lush, biodiverse fields, this green belt was truly grey belt land – garden centres and golf courses right next to train stations – perfect for desperately-needed family-sized, affordable homes. The local Conservatives campaigned against the project. Their anti-growth sentiment was also reflected at a national level by their colleagues in government, who repeatedly failed to address the housing crisis and to deliver vital infrastructure projects during their 14-year tenure.
As the newly elected Member of Parliament for Barking, I am constantly reminded of the human cost of the Conservative’s failure to tackle the housing crisis. Every week, I meet constituents who share with me their personal and desperate stories about overcrowding, years spent in temporary accommodation, poor-quality housing, and sky-high rents.
Barking has a rich history founded in its industrial heritage – including the former Barking Power Station – and as home to the UK’s largest council estate built after the First World War as part of the Government’s ‘Homes Fit for Heroes’ scheme.
That legacy of pioneering council housing continues today. Inside Housing reports that Barking & Dagenham Council tops the national list of council housebuilders. Between 2023-2024 the local authority built 879 homes, with a further 1,901 set to be completed in the next five years. They have also just adopted a new Local Plan, with the vision to construct 50,000 new homes by 2037, so that my constituency can remain a place where working Londoners can raise their families in secure and decent homes. Labour locally and nationally is on a mission to tackle the housing crisis at its root, by increasing supply, but too often, support for new homes is a national patchwork. For every council championing new homes, there are others where the political culture is centred around blocking them.
I know from my own time as a councillor that resilient local politicians can make or break a housing project. MPs and Councillors are good at engaging with residents – after all, we run elections and win them – but not all planning committees are robust or resilient enough to take on anti-developer campaigns, even when it’s clear that an area is in desperate need of investment and regeneration. Equally, I’ve seen too many examples of councils too anxious to have an area-wide conversation about housing by developing an adequate Local Plan, and instead rely on unplanned development. Over 60% of local authorities do not have an up-to-date Local Plan – the appropriate vehicle to set out a vision for new housing in an area.
That’s why I was pleased to sit on the Bill Committee for the Labour Government’s new Planning and Infrastructure Bill which – alongside changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) last year – represents the biggest reform to housebuilding and planning in a generation. It introduces major reforms to the Town and Country Planning Act, compulsory purchase rules and the current infrastructure regime while introducing a Nature Restoration Fund to facilitate Environmental Delivery Plans. Changes to legislation effecting development corporations will expand the development of New Towns. The Olympic Park, the regeneration of Canary Wharf and the Docklands are just some examples of successful projects led by development corporations that have transformed parts of East London into economic hubs, now home to thousands of families.
The Bill also includes measures to modernise planning committees, empowering local leaders to make regeneration schemes and ambitious Local Plans become the norm, not the exception.
The over-use of council planning committees can slow down decision-making and result in councils losing appeal when committees have refused applications against the recommendations of their officers, or even when development was previously agreed in a Local Plan. The voices of people who need housing go unheard in debates. New standardised delegation schemes will ensure the right decisions are being made by planning officers, using a local authorities’ Local Plans as the basis for decisions, with more significant applications continuing to be made by planning committees.
Next, investment in infrastructure is essential to bring forward larger sites and to address residents’ concerns. In my own constituency of Barking, I have witnessed these challenges firsthand. Barking Riverside is a development on the Thames Estuary that includes over 10,000 new homes. It has a new overground station, industrial sites, commercial businesses, community centres and several schools. However, the area does not have a GP surgery – something I am campaigning on today. Adequate Infrastructure Delivery Plans alongside Local Plans will help councillors hold developers to account.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill puts infrastructure at the heart of development. Currently, the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) regime, used to approve most major infrastructure projects, has failed to deliver critical infrastructure on time. The National Infrastructure Commission reports that decisions for major projects now take over four years compared to two and a half years in 2010.
The Government’s new Bill removes the statutory requirement to consult as part of the pre-application stage for NSIP applications. The changes will mean that delays are reduced, and essential infrastructure is consented to faster. That will save up to 12 months from the pre-application stage and millions, if not billions, of pounds. It could make the difference between whether an infrastructure proposal is viable or not, and between whether homes are built in an area or not. Crucially, communities will still get a chance to oppose new projects as part of the post-submission stage.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill maintains the existing legal and policy protections that ensure that irreplaceable ancient woods and trees are protected, while also delivering a more strategic approach to improve the environment. The introduction of a Nature Restoration Fund will facilitate the implementation of Environmental Delivery Plans (EDP), this new holistic approach will move away from the single development assessment model and put forward conservation measures in consultation with Natural England, and other key stakeholders, like our British farmers across the country, the reforms will maximise environmental protection and improve public access to green space.
Ultimately, if a Government is serious about tackling the housing crisis, then this country must get building. Much of the debate on the Government’s planning changes has focused on objections based on environmental concerns. But the truth is, this landmark Bill will streamline and accelerate the delivery of 1.5 million homes, that are so desperately needed. It will help reverse the decline and stagnation I first stood against as a council leader, set out a strategic approach to mitigate the environmental impact of new homes, and ensure places and people benefit from Labour’s Plan for Change.