Keir Starmer’s new government certainly talked the talk in its first King’s Speech, but what did the planning and construction sectors make of their plans to tackle the housing crisis?

With the new government now just about settled in, attention inevitably turns to whether they can deliver on the promises they made in the run up to the election. Labour’s first King’s Speech in July offered plenty to be optimistic about – not least a promise to overhaul the planning system en route to building a promised 1.5m new homes over the course of this parliament.

It sounds good, but successive governments have struggled with getting new homes built, and as a result the housing crisis has grown progressively worse on the ground. So what does the industry make of Starmer and co’s latest promises to save the day?

Ben Standing, Partner specialising in planning and environmental law at UK and Ireland law firm Browne Jacobson, was broadly optimistic, though as ever the devil is in the detail: “Labour’s ambition to get the planning system working quicker, cheaper and more effectively so that we can deliver the required housing and energy infrastructure is a commendable one, but there’s no magic wand to fix it, as consecutive governments have discovered,” he said.

“If the new government wants to make a real difference to building infrastructure in the short and medium terms, while also ensuring its flagship policy to establish Great British Energy is able to generate sufficient green power, there are two small changes to planning policy that can reap significant rewards – although they won’t be without their challenges.

“Firstly, it must clarify what the planning system will prioritise when giving weight to various considerations in planning applications to enable consistent decision-making across planning authorities.

“With so many environmental, legal and heritage issues to balance against potential benefits of development, a clear position at national level is required so that the strategic importance of new housing and infrastructure is a decisive factor.

“This is especially true in relation to large linear infrastructure, such as electricity transmission cables that span numerous planning authority areas. These pose issues like visual impact, so there must be a clear weighting in favour of key renewable infrastructure to clear planning hurdles.

“Secondly, the government must make it easier and cheaper for councils to update their local plans, which set out a pipeline for future development. This is currently a very burdensome and expensive task that involves many layers of bureaucracy and inspection, so loosening some of the most arduous tests they must pass would give the private sector a clear sense of direction when proposing new development.

“At the same time, the government must think more strategically about how it can update the National Planning Policy Framework to establish a definition for low-quality parts of the green belt – the so-called grey belt – to unlock further land for development.

“It should also seriously consider where exactly we want to build, with extensions to existing cities that already have much of the required public infrastructure arguably the best candidates for new development as this will also help to boost investment and raise economic output.”

Ifath Nawaz, Senior Consultant Solicitor, Planning, Setfords agreed that without more power for local authorities, little movement is likely: “While we welcome the proposed improvements to the planning system, which has been neglected for many years, there are real concerns that without significant new resources to support Local Authorities, the ambitious housebuilding targets in the King’s Speech cannot be delivered,” he said. “Local Authorities are already struggling to attract the expertise needed in their planning departments to handle the current workload, let alone an anticipated increase in new housing developments.

“As well as more resources, they need enhanced enforcement powers to get the homes built once developments are approved, to overcome the local objections that so often frustrate new housing. We have seen in London and Manchester the benefits of powers being devolved to local administrations. The Government’s housebuilding ambitions can only be achieved with more investment and resources, particularly for local government.”

Laura Hughes, Head of Public Law at UK and Ireland law firm Browne Jacobson, agreed that a simple centralised plan is not the answer, and went further than calling for more powers for local authorities, suggesting that greater devolution holds the key to unlocking the housing crisis: “The further rollout of devolution in England has been welcomed by local leaders who feel they are best equipped with the knowledge of their areas to make the best decisions.

“Providing greater powers on issues such as local bus services will help to ensure a co-ordinated approach to transport.

“However, devolution has become very fragmented with just over half the population covered by a devolution deal and varying degrees of power handed down to different areas. At the same time, these powers have taken on a degree of standardisation rather than addressing unique and complex sets of circumstances in each local area where devolution is present.

“So while we’ve seen some great examples of devolution delivering transformative benefits to trailblazer areas like Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, it’s debatable whether we can replicate this efficiently and effectively in other places without a more bespoke devolution model.

“For devolution to truly work, we need to get back to recognising that areas will require specific powers to deal with specific issues, and we hope the English Devolution Bill reflect this, allowing tailored deals driven by what the areas want and need.”

Staying in the West Midlands, Bilal Ahmed, Founder and Executive Chairman of Sama Investment Group, the Birmingham-based Sharia-compliant residential developer and investor, said: “The King’s Speech has brought potential good news for all of us who are involved with Shariah-compliant real estate development. Among the 40 Government bills announced there are encouraging highlights and some challenges ahead.

“Although we know that new ministerial teams are still coming to grips with the full scope of their responsibilities, the King’s Speech signalled some important broad intentions, emphasising a desire to accelerate the delivery of high-quality infrastructure and housing through planning reforms.

“This is great news for developers, and those who can quickly prepare sites with planning consultants – swiftly transforming proposals into clear, actionable strategies – are poised to gain the most from these announcements.

“The new Planning and Infrastructure Bill is set to accelerate housebuilding and infrastructure delivery by streamlining the delivery process for critical infrastructure and reforming compulsory purchase compensation rules. This means that local authorities will have their planning committees modernised, and their capacity increased in order to provide more predictable services to developers and investors.

Ahmed is also a supporter of further devolution: “The English Devolution Bill devolves powers to local authorities, regional and metro mayors, and devolved bodies with the aim of creating a dynamic economy as a key driver of growth,” he added. “Devolution is to become the default setting, removing the need for negotiations over the powers of local bodies. This could be beneficial to real estate developers such as Sama who are keen to work in partnership with local authorities to create long-lasting value for investors and communities.

“More generally, the National Wealth Fund Bill, which is a key part of Labour’s manifesto capitalised with an initial £7.4 billion, will establish a permanent National Wealth Fund to make transformative investments across the whole of the UK’s economy. Economic growth would of course benefit all of us, and that has a very positive effect on the real estate development industry.

“The King’s Speech has set forth an exciting and bold vision for the UK’s future, but the challenge now lies in the Government’s ability to transform these initiatives into effective actions that successfully balance economic growth, sustainability, and local community interests.”

For Dr Henrietta Blackmore, National Director of Habitat for Humanity Great Britain (GB), it’s not just about where we build new homes, but how we use existing buildings: “The new Government is committed to significantly expanding the number of homes built in the UK. However, thousands of publicly-owned properties sit empty and overlooked, and there are an estimated 165,000 empty, privately-owned, commercial premises across the UK. The Government needs a multi-pronged approach to tackle the imbalance between housing supply and demand; this should include making better use of existing buildings,” she said.

“Habitat for Humanity GB has shown that many of these empty spaces could provide excellent homes, supporting communities and revitalising town centres at a fraction of the cost to the climate. The solutions to the UK’s housing crisis aren’t just in new builds, on new land. They lie in making the most of what already exists.”

Honor Barratt, CEO of assisted living specialist Birchgrove agreed that we’re not making the most of the buildings we already have: “Labour’s plan to increase the annual supply of new homes is commendable, but we can be making far more effective use of homes already built,” she said.

“Two thirds of over-65s have at least two empty spare bedrooms in their home, which equates to nine million empty bedrooms every night. Meanwhile, we have 300,000 people who are technically homeless – either sofa surfing or on the streets.

“Investing specifically in senior living housing will help more over-65s downsize, thereby freeing up millions of bedrooms and reducing the need to develop on greenbelt land. We already have enough homes between us; there is just a massive imbalance in how we live in them.”

There was optimism from housebuilders themselves too, perhaps understandably with the promised construction bonanza. Graham Prothero, Chief Executive Office of MJ Gleeson plc, the leading low-cost housebuilder, said: “I’m heartened to see the new Government focus on housebuilding as a key priority.

“While more investment is needed in local planning offices, we agree that we need a ‘robust’ approach from the Government to tackle local authorities dragging their heels on implementing new housing rules and clamping down on the ability of residents to block housing developments.

“We are very pleased that we have a Government which is acknowledging the huge contribution of housebuilding to the economy. We support the Prime Minister’s proposals and look forward to playing our part in delivering much-needed, affordable homes.”

Finally, Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), added:

“It is refreshing to have a government which views its primary role as enabling growth and removing barriers because this ensures business and communities know they can be part of the strategy.

“The continued focus on planning reform should also be applauded because it has been almost a century since any government understood its role in enabling business growth, better places and a healthier, well-functioning society. It does feel as though country is being put before party.”

A total of forty bills including draft bills will be brought forward, with a focus on ‘growing the economy through speeding up the building of houses and infrastructure, improving transport, creating more jobs and securing clean, green energy.’

The Government also announced an intention to reform the apprenticeship levy and set up ‘Skills England’, whose remit will be to ensure the nation has the highly skilled workforce it needs.