Autumn Statement 2023

On 22nd November 2023, planning took centre stage in the Autumn Statement speech delivered by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

He announced that the Government intends to “back British business” through 110 growth measures. The first of which was to “remove planning red tape”.

Some of the key announcements include:

– Introduction of reforms to allow local authorities to recover the full costs of major business planning applications in return for being required to meet guaranteed faster timelines. If they fail, fees will be refunded automatically with the application being processed free of charge.

– An investment of £110m over this year and next to deliver high-quality nutrient mitigation schemes, intended to unlock 40,000 homes.

– An investment of £32m to “bust the planning backlog” and develop new housing quarters in Cambridge, London and Leeds.

– An allocation of £450m to the Local Authority Housing Fund.

– A consultation on a new Permitted Development Right to allow any house to be converted into two flats provided the exterior remains unaffected.

– Additional Investment Zones to those previously announced in the Spring, including in West Yorkshire, West Midlands, East Midlands, Greater Manchester and in North Wales.

– New devolution deals announced for Hull and East Yorkshire.

Should you have any questions on these announcements, please contact a member of the Firstplan team.