News | Politics I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice . A top Labour figure acknowledged its planning reforms “may be controversial” but said that “we have to get things built”, ahead of the King’s Speech which is expected to include a commitment to address what the party sees as a major block to building houses and vital national infrastructure.
The Bill is likely to involve streamlining the planning process and reintroducing mandatory housing targets, as well as facilitating building on the “grey belt” – green belt land that has previously been developed. Pat McFadden , the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, was quizzed on his morning media round on Wednesday about how the government would tackle nimbyism and whether individual MPs would block developments as well as what kind of land new housing could be built on. Mr McFadden told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We were very clear during the election campaign that we would come out of this on the side of getting things built more quickly.
“That may be controversial in some places, I’ve no doubt that it will be.” But the Labour MP for Wolverhampton South East added that doing nothing would mean aspirations of home ownership or even renting a home at a reasonable price would continue to be unrealisable for a generation of young people. He said he could not guarantee that MPs would not try to block developments in their local comm.
