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Housing secretary Michael Gove has scrapped mandatory home-building targets in a major climbdown to backbench rebels threatening Rishi Sunak’s first Commons defeat as prime minister.
Campaigners fear the move will put at risk the government’s target of building 300,000 new homes a year to ease shortages of affordable accommodation.
Around 60 Tory MPs signed an amendment to Mr Gove’s Levelling-Up and Regneration Bill to overturn councils’ duty to take the target into account in planning decisions. The move threatened to leave Mr Sunak dependent on Labour votes to get the flagship legislation through the Commons.
After weeks of behind-the-scenes wrangling, the housing secretary has now agreed to change the National Planning Policy Framework to make the targets “advisory” on councils.
The change means that if the centrally-determined target would result in developments of a density that damages the rural or low-rise suburban nature of an area, the target can be reduced.
One of the MPs behind the rebel amendment, former cabinet minister Theresa Villiers, told The Independent: “This is an important move by Michael and this is now a good package. Ministers have listened.”
She said that more than 100 MPs, including members of the government, had indicated they were not happy with the mandatory target.
Labour’s shadow housing secretary Lisa Nandy said the move was “unconscionable in the middle of a housing crisis”.
“We offered Labour votes to defeat the rebels, but Rishi Sunak and Michael Gove seem to have chosen party before country,” said Ms Nandy.
"This is so weak. The prime minister and cabinet are in office but not in power."
But another leader of the Tory rebellion, the Isle of Wight’s Bob Seely, said: “Supported by well over 100 Tory MPs, we have helped ministers shape a housing and planning agenda which is more conservative than the one we currently have.
“Targets will be advisory, not mandatory. The power of planning inspectors is weakened. Rules which have helped developers force councils to release land will be weakened.
“The new language we’ve agreed will work with communities, speaking to the character of areas and celebrating the beauty of good design. It understands the need for farmland, will significantly emphasise brownfield over greenfield development and will help deliver homes for young people.”
Explaining his climbdown, Mr Gove said: “If we are to deliver the new homes this country needs, new development must have the support of local communities.
“That requires people to know it will be beautiful, accompanied by the right infrastructure, approved democratically, that it will enhance the environment and create proper neighbourhoods.
“These principles have always been key to our reforms and we are now going further by strengthening our commitment to build the right homes in the right places and put local people at the heart of decision-making.”
