Housing Secretary to Change National Planning Guidance

Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has announced changes to national planning guidance which will be confirmed as part of the new national planning policy framework (NPPF) this week.

The changes come as part of Labour's plan to have built 1.5 million new houses by the end of their parliament. Since Kier Starmer came to power in 2024, they’ve built 392,000. When announcing the plans, Rayner said: “By unlocking thousands of homes around well-connected transport hubs, we’re helping people live closer to work, school and the services they rely on, while backing local businesses and driving growth in our communities”.

Here are some of the changes that she has promised to bring forward:

• Pubs to be protected from being turned into houses or offices. 
• Councils are to have a ‘default yes’ approach to housing developments within walking distance of tram and train stations.
• If you want to build on green belt land, you need higher levels of affordable housing and have new or improved green spaces. 
• Support to be given to build AI datacentres. 

Written by Jorja Flitcroft