Get Ready for Growth?

Fewer than 72 hours since her appointment, the Chancellor seems to have emphatically set the tone for a new pro-growth agenda. Speaking at the Treasury, Reeves pledged to take the fight to the NIMBYs.

The Chancellor has already given the green light for the construction of two new data centres which had previously been halted by red tape. Promising 1.5 million new homes in five years, the Chancellor announced the reintroduction of mandatory house building targets; which should lead to a 15% increase in GDP- according to the Home Builders Federation.

Perhaps most interesting was the framing of growth at the centre of any planning decision. For too long has the national interest been sacrificed at the altar of local bureaucracy, costing the taxpayer billions without any material result. Many infrastructure and planning decisions will be made nationally rather than locally, taking power out of the hands of local government bureaucrats and NIMBYs. With DHLUC and HMT taking the reins, infrastructure programmes can be deployed more quickly and efficiently, if it is done right. But the war on housing bureaucracy does not end there – 300 new planning officers were announced to clear local backlogs, alongside a taskforce to accelerate approval for over 14,000 homes currently held in planning purgatory.

Why not go one step further and introduce approval for planning applications that have not received a response in six weeks? Getting shovels in the ground is a top priority, and so there is room for further progress. Nominally, housing of all kinds should be unleashed, allocated as per the market, to truly tackle the affordable housing crisis.

Envisaging a purposeful role for the state, there was also an emphatic endorsement of reform, the reversal of the ban on onshore wind represents both a cut-back in red tape, and future lower energy costs. The same is true of pledges to get building underway on ‘grey-belt’ land and brownfield sites. Similarly, transport too will benefit from planning reform, with projects such as the Lower Thames Crossing to be cut free from excessive regulatory tape. Unblocking resistance across the board – housing, transport, infrastructure, energy – will therefore be central to promoting long-term productivity and growth.

These plans will inspire hope that some of the barriers to building.– which have for too long obstructed growth and development – will finally fall.  But whilst announcements are promising , we must wait now for the results.