George Osborne gives ministers the power to force through plans for 500k homes

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Ministers to take over planning authorities in areas refusing to meet targets
Projects on brownfield sites will get 'automatic permission' under new law
But Treasury sources say existing legal protection for Green Belt to remain

By Jason Groves Deputy Political Editor For The Daily Mail

Published: 18:25 EST, 9 July 2015 | Updated: 07:40 EST, 10 July 2015

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George Osborne will today order sweeping reforms of the planning system to fast-track the construction of more than 500,000 homes

Homeowners will be able to add up to two extra storeys to their properties without needing planning permission, George Osborne announced today.

The Chancellor has ordered sweeping reforms of the planning system to fast-track the construction of more than 500,000 homes.

New laws will allow ministers to take over planning authorities in leafy areas that refuse to meet targets for house building.

Under the plans, major extensions will be allowed to match work carried out by neighbours.

The change will make it easier to build extensions by reducing the amount of bureaucracy for householders.

Starting in London, it means that people living in an area where someone has already been cleared to put another storey or two on their house will no longer require planning permission to carry out similar work.

After a previous scheme introduced in May 2013, homeowners currently do not need planning permission for a single-storey extension of no more than 20ft high at a terrace property, or one of 26ft at a detached house.

But they must notify the local council, which will invite neighbours to comment on the proposed development. If they object to it, it might not be allowed.

This scheme, which has been extended until May 2019, has more restrictions for houses in conservation areas, national parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The previous government had originally proposed to give homeowners the right to build single-storey extensions even if their neighbours complained.

But it backed down after opposition from Conservative and Liberal Democrat backbenchers, who warned it would pit ‘neighbour against neighbour’.

Mr Osborne today unveiled a productivity plan to kickstart housing building across the country.

Treasury sources stressed that existing legal protections for the Green Belt will be retained.

But ministers are braced for a fresh clash with the National Trust and other countryside groups, and are determined to face down so-called Nimbys, intransigent residents who oppose all development near their homes.

The Chancellor will also introduce ‘automatic planning permission’ for projects on so-called brownfield land – sites that have been developed before.

In addition, the Government will create a national register of brownfield land and have new powers to seize plots for housing development if they have been unused for a long time.

Large housing schemes will bypass the local planning system altogether, with approval given by ministers.

The initiative comes just two years after ministers endured a bruising clash with countryside campaigners over reforms that were meant to unblock Britain’s planning system.

Sources last night conceded those reforms ‘had not gone far enough’, with planning still seen as a major cause of Britain’s sluggish progress on house building.

It cam as figures showed new house building slowed at its steepest pace for nearly four years in May. The 5.8 per cent fall was the sharpest since October 2011.

Highlights of first Conservative budget in almost 20 years

Mr Osborne said: ‘Britain has been incapable of building enough homes. The reforms we made to the planning system in the last parliament have started to improve the situation.

‘But we need to go further and I am not prepared to stand by when people who want to get on the housing ladder can’t do so.’

The Chancellor added: ‘We’ll keep on protecting the Green Belt, but these reforms are a vital part of a comprehensive plan to confront the challenge of our lifetime and raise productivity and living standards.’

The reforms are contained in a 90-page document, Fixing The Foundations, that spells out how the Government intends to boost Britain’s productivity and start the process of fixing its creaking infrastructure.

Productivity levels have lagged behind other major economies for years, and Mr Osborne will unveil reforms affecting education, transport, welfare, science and universities.

Sources said that the plan was effectively the ‘second half of the Budget’, which the Chancellor yesterday pledged would form the basis of a ‘new contract’ with Britain.

The new laws will allow ministers to take over planning authorities refusing to meet targets for house building

Experts believe the UK needs to build up to 300,000 homes a year to cope with demand and start dealing with the backlog – more than double the existing prediction of around 140,000.

But some critics claim that demand for new homes could be reduced if the Government clamped down on immigration.

Ministers have been frustrated by the failure of local council planners to respond to Britain’s housing crisis.

A source said there was particular concern that some authorities in ‘leafy areas’ had not drawn up local plans to address the need for new housing.

These councils face being put in ‘special measures’ if they refuse to act more quickly. Government hit squads would then take charge to speed up development, in the same way that failing schools are taken over.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid, who will launch the plan this morning, said: ‘Undersupply of housing pushes up house prices in many areas and means millions of people can’t live and work where they want to, or even own their own home. We are absolutely determined to see more planning permissions granted and more houses built.’