The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has today committed to updating the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to bring back mandatory housing targets and to increase the expectation of how many homes will be built through new increased housing targets.

Housing Minister Angela Rayner announced the reforms, which aims to see just over 370,000 homes built annually – equivalent to more than 1.5 million over the next five years.

The new housing targets are proposed to make sure that local authorities plan for a level of housing growth that is proportionate to the size of existing communities, but targeting specifically those areas where house prices are most out of step with local incomes through an uplift.

The government is reinforcing the expectation for all local authorities to have an up-to-date local plan to properly plan for local housing needs.

There is a commitment from the government to ‘step in’ to push progress with local plans and to take ‘tough decisions’ where they need to be taken.

However, we do not at this stage have the detail of how this will work in practice and what the threshold will be for the government to step in.

The focus will be on a ‘brownfield land first’ approach; with a push towards building at greater densities within towns and cities.

However, the government has also confirmed that if authorities cannot meet their housing targets within the urban area, they will need to look at land outside of their built up areas including within the green belt.

With respect to green belt sites, the expectation is for local authorities to identify land that can be delivered for housing where it comprises:

• Brownfield land in the green belt;
• Grey belt land; and,
• Prioritising the release of green belt land close to stations (railway) and existing settlements.

The government also proposes to introduce new ‘Golden Rules’ to govern the development of grey belt sites.

There is, however, some confusion in the government’s statement on this point with different publications from MCHLG citing that the golden rules will apply to ‘green belt’ land overall, and not just the new ‘grey belt’ land. Further clarity is required on this front.

The ‘Golden Rules’ are:

• Half of the homes must be affordable; i.e. at least 50% of any development;
• The development must enhance the local environment; and,
• The necessary infrastructure to support the scheme must be in place i.e. schools and GP surgeries.

As always, the devil is in the detail and this will need to be scrutinised.

The government, however, is taking a proactive approach to boosting housing delivery through requiring local authorities to plan properly for their needs and recognising the significant pressure upon housing affordability in areas with a high house price and low wage disparity.

More detail about social and affordable housing is expected to be announced in the autumn budget on October 30.

• Mandatory housing targets of 300,000 new homes annually were scrapped by the previous Conservative government in December.