Take the party politics out of planning and housing policies
Planning, housing and infrastructure have never been more salient political issues. For good reason. The UK may have economically recovered from Covid earlier than thought , but as a country we are not well. We are ailed by the significant and competing challenges of affordability, productivity and climate breakdown. Where Labour might once have prescribed public spending, a challenging fiscal picture has led them to join the Conservatives in calling for growth . Planning represents a potential route to administer that treatment and manage its side effects, but it is not currently fulfilling its potential. We see evidence of this in national news. We are struggling to deliver enough homes in the right parts of the country at prices people can afford. Capacity issues across waterway, sewer and electricity grid systems are constraining development. Large infrastructure projects are expensive and complex; HS2 is battling to connect into London , let alone the rest of the country. Whilst ...