At last we have “the yeast that lifts the whole mattress of dough, the magic sauce – the ketchup of catch-up”, but does it cut the mustard? 

It has gone through many twists and turns in the Ministerial merry-go-round, through: Jenrick; Gove; Clark then back to Gove again. It amounts to 534 pages of legislation.

Secondary legislation is also required to flesh out some details. 

A future change of Government could also likely want to change things again.

So here is Civic Voice’s take on the new bill:

This substantial 534-page legislation serves as the cornerstone of the government’s ambitious levelling-up agenda, ushering in comprehensive changes to planning and plan-making procedures, reforming developer contributions, and enshrining the government’s “levelling up missions” in legal statute.

Michael Gove, the housing secretary, hailed the Act as a game-changer, emphasising its potential to bring about a plethora of positive transformations. These include providing more homes in communities across the country, initiating levelling-up efforts in disadvantaged areas, revitalising high streets and town centres, streamlining the planning system, ensuring developer accountability, and creating beautiful homes near essential amenities and eco-friendly enhancements. It all sounds almost too good to be true! The newly enacted Act introduces a suite of national development management policies with a broader impact on civic societies.

These policies address common planning considerations applicable across various authorities, such as the green belt and flood risk.

The Act streamlines the preparation, examination, and adoption process, reducing evidence requirements and aiming for plans to be adopted within 30 months. Notably, the duty to cooperate with neighbouring authorities to meet housing needs is removed. Amendments to the National Policy Planning Framework eliminate the requirement for a rolling five-year housing land supply when the local plan is current. Planning fees for major and minor applications can be increased by 35% and 25%, respectively, while councils gain the authority to consider slow build-out rates during planning approvals.

Furthermore, the Act mandates every local planning authority to create a design code for their area, which will integrate with local or supplementary plans. Additionally, it introduces ‘street vote’ powers, enabling residents on a street to propose property redevelopment aligned with their design preferences. Finally, the Act addresses planning enforcement matters.

Only time will reveal whether the Levelling Up idea truly levels up the country or further leaves certain regions behind.