Labour's housebuilding reforms allowing us to quadruple planning applications, says Henry Boot boss

The new framework technically only came into effect from the middle of this month but Henry Boot chief executive Tim Roberts said that both councils and the Planning Inspectorate which deals with appeals over rejected applications already making changes to their approach.

In Henry Boot’s results for 2024, published this week, Mr Roberts said the company had won approval for almost 3,000 plots in the last six months “far exceeding our typical run rate”; a position he credited to “a welcome change in the Inspectorate's and Local Planning Authorities' approach following recent amendments to the NPPF”.

He told The Yorkshire Post: "Typically, over 12 months we were getting planning approval for about 2,000 plots.

"We’ve got 3,000 in six months. In the autumn, when we were talking to local planning authorities, they knew the Government had got the bit between its teeth and wanted to change the NPPF.

"It was clear they were going to respond to that and it was also clear because we’ve won some consents on appeal, that the Planning Inspectorate has already changed its approach.

"It is easy to criticise the Government but let’s give credit where it is due. Their changes will lead to a freeing up of the planning system. They have now got to make sure that planning authorities like Sheffield have got the resources to deal with the complexity of planning.

"They are saying they are going to give them the resources but we haven’t seen that yet.”

He said it makes sense that councils have been proactively adapting to the Government’s shift in approach.

"If you are a planning authority, why would you turn down an application that you think in spring would have merit. You’ll grant the planning because if you do turn it down, then the developer will go to appeal and by the time that happens, the policy has changed.”

As a result of the NPPF changes, Henry Boot is planning to quadruple the number of applications being submitted over the next year by its strategic land and planning promotion arm Hallam Land.

Mr Roberts said: "Hallam shows how the world is changing. In a typical year, we would put 2,500 plots in for planning, we think we will now be putting 10,000. It is four-fold.

"Forget about Henry Boot for a minute, that is good for the country because there is no doubt the previous planning system has been bad for development, bad for households and bad for the productivity of the country.”

In his statement as part of this week’s annual results, Mr Roberts said Hallam Land has also adjusted its hiring policies to prepare for the increased demand it is anticipating as a result of the Government’s changes.

It said: “Having assessed the changes to the NPPF that were finalised just before the end of 2024 and concluded they should materially ease planning policy, we responded quickly by completing a strategic workforce plan within Hallam. This has involved drawing up and investing in new systems and processes and adding more resources.

"In particular, we are well underway in recruiting an extra ten heads to add to the planners and specialists we already employ.

"This will support Hallam in ramping up planning applications by a further 10,000 plots over the next 12 months with more to come in 2026, and to ultimately grow plot sales.”

He added that alterations to the NPPF were yet to be shown in national housebuilding approval figures.

“The announcement of changes to the NPPF will increase applications; though, this has not yet been reflected in national approvals with 25 per cent fewer homes granted planning consent in 2024, compared with the previous peak in 2021, according to the Home Builders’ Federation,” he said. “Demand for prime deliverable sites has therefore remained robust.”

Changes ‘set to add billions to economy’

Rachel Reeves has said the Government’s planning changes will deliver the “biggest positive growth impact” ever reflected in an OBR forecast.

She said in her Spring Statement on Wednesday: “We published changes to the National Planning Policy Framework, driven forward tirelessly by the Deputy Prime Minister, reintroducing mandatory housing targets and bringing “grey belt” land into scope for development. The OBR have today concluded that these reforms will permanently increase the level of real GDP by 0.2% by 2029-30, an additional £6.8bn in our economy and by 0.4% of GDP within the next 10 years an additional £15.1bn in our economy.

“That is the biggest positive growth impact that the OBR have ever reflected in their forecast, for a policy with no fiscal cost. And taken together with our plans to increase capital spending this Government’s policies will increase the level of real GDP by 0.6% in the next 10 years.”