We’re really very sure that the point is being missed here

The first point being missed here is that this is theft:

Landowners will receive less in compensation when they are forced to give up land for house building, under a tough new Planning and Infrastructure Bill.

As part of its plan to “get Britain building”, Labour will toughen up the rules around compulsory purchase orders.

It will mean that the amount of compensation paid to landowners will be “fair but not excessive”.

We agree that we are projecting a little here. But there’s long been muttering that compulsory purchase should be at current permitted use prices, not potential permitted use prices. This is, as we say, theft.

For the current market price of a piece of land is both current permitted use and also some element of potential permitted uses. Some estimation of the value if permits were changed times the perceived probability of those permits changing. Options have value - there are vast financial markets worldwide that prove that contention - therefore to pay only current permit value without that potential is theft.

But horrific though theft by the government is this is still missing the point. For what they want to stop having to pay is that uplift in value from gaining planning permission. Which is that missing the point entirely. We all want a system where there is no uplift in value from planning permission. We want so much planning granted that there is no scarcity value to gaining planning. So, wibbles about how to tax - or how not to pay for - the very thing we want to abolish in the first place is to very much miss that point.

Increase the supply of planning so that planning has no value. In short, abolish the Town and Country Planning Act 1947 and successors. Blow it up, proper blow up - kablooie.

Tim Worstall