Councils could be forced to build on green belt to hit Labour housing targets

Mandatory housing targets for local authorities will be reintroduced and increased, while some low-quality green belt land will be freed up for construction under the plans.

In Yorkshire and the Humber, the housing target has increased by almost 50% to 27,433, while in the North East the target has doubled.

The Housing Secretary will reverse changes made to the National Planning Policy Framework by Rishi Sunak’s administration that she said had tanked housing supply.

Ms Rayner told the Commons yesterday: “We are ambitious, and what I say won’t be without controversy, but this is urgent because this Labour Government is not afraid to take on the tough choices needed to deliver for our country.”

Her reforms make explicit that the default answer to brownfield development should be “yes” and promote housebuilding at greater densities in urban centres, like towns and cities.

The most controversial part of the plans will be potential changes to the green belt.

These are buffer zones around cities and built-up areas of parkland, which limit building to prevent urban sprawl.

It is separate from green field sites, which are fields and farmland in the countryside.

There are huge green belt spaces in West and South Yorkshire around Leeds and Sheffield, as well as encompassing York.

Ms Rayner said: “Local authorities will need to review their green belt if required.”

She explained that any building on such land will be subject to “golden rules” to ensure the development delivers 50% affordable homes with a focus on social rent, and has access to green spaces and infrastructure such as schools and GP surgeries.

Ministers are also laying the groundwork for universal local plan coverage across England.

With only a third of councils currently having a plan that is under five years old, ministers will be ready to intervene to ensure they all have one in place by a specified point next year, taking over a local plan if insufficient progress is made.

She said: “Decisions about what to build should reflect local views… well, that should be about how to deliver new homes, not whether to.”

Ms Rayner also unveiled immediate measures to counter the decline in the number of social and affordable housing through new flexibilities for councils, including allowing them to use their right-to-buy receipts to build and buy more social homes.

However the Conservatives are concerned that local people’s views will get dismissed and ignored.

Martin Vickers, the Tory MP for Brigg and Immingham, told the Yorkshire Post: “It’s quite clear that local authorities will have less influence over matters - they are going to railroad their policies through.

“They’re going to rubber stamp massive developments against the wishes of local people.”

He said he thought people in Yorkshire and the Humber “are going to be angry”.

“Public services can’t cope, the highways are becoming more and more congested and local authorities are being overruled,” he added.