The number of planning applications submitted in Barnet has fallen by a third

The current Labor government is promising planning reforms, says Andrew Dowdeswell, Data Reporter

Labor has promised to reform the planning process after a landslide election victory last week.

It comes as the number of planning applications submitted in Barnet has fallen by a third in the past decade.

Labor has said it will build 1.5 million new homes in the next parliament by “bulldozing” restrictive planning rules, encouraging councils to build on industrial estates and identifying lower-quality areas in the green belt for development, known as the “grey belt”. .

Figures from the Department for Levelling, Housing and Communities show that Barnet council decided on 2,827 planning applications in the year to March – down from 2,874 the previous year.

Of these, 2,263 (80%) were granted, while 564 were denied.

In England, councils decided 333,000 planning applications, down 12% on the previous year and the lowest figure in a decade.

Of these, 285,000 (86%) were granted, meaning that both the proportion and total number of applications accepted fell to a ten-year low.

Speaking to ITV News, Sir Keir Starmer said his first action as Prime Minister would be to reform the planning system.

He added: “We cannot continue with the system as it is. Infrastructure lasts for years. Building a home takes years. We are too slow. We are too expensive. We are over budget.

“We can’t go on like this. We have to make tough decisions to move the country forward.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the current system was a “barrier to growth” and Labor would “put planning reform at the heart of our economic and political argument”.

There was a particular emphasis on housing developments in the Labor manifesto. It said it would immediately update the National Planning Policy Framework “to undo damaging Tory changes, including the restoration of mandatory housing targets”.

But across the country, the number of planning applications granted for major residential developments – those providing at least 10 residential homes – has fallen steadily over the past decade.

Last year, accepted applications fell by 12%, falling to the lowest level in ten years. In Barnet, 19 were awarded last year.

To boost housing development, Labor said it would support local authorities by funding extra planning officers and “will not be afraid to use the full powers of intervention to build the homes we need”.

However, it is also committed to ensuring that local communities continue to shape house building in their area.

Their manifesto said a “disadvantaged first” approach would be implemented, but admitted brownfield development was insufficient to meet housing needs.

Mark Booth, co-founder of housebuilder Hayfield, said “fixing the current system is not enough”. He added: “We need to find a solution that encourages local planning authorities to provide housing in all areas of the country.”

Lizzy Galbraith, political economist at abrdn, said housing targets such as those set by Labor “are very ambitious – even with planning reform”.

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