Key amendments to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill have been put forward, which will help local people bring forward developments they want to see, clamp down on slow build out by developers and ensure that the UKs waterways and rivers are protected.

New measures added to the Bill are based on the government’s BIDEN principles:

• making sure new development is Beautiful
• supported by the right Infrastructure
• a more Democratic system where communities have their say
• enhances the Environment
• and creating better Neighbourhoods shaped by the people who live in them

This will help to regenerate communities and deliver on the levelling up missions set out in the white paper earlier this year.

Minister of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Rt Hon Lucy Frazer MP said: “Levelling Up means creating vibrant and beautiful communities where local people and businesses can thrive. The measures we are setting out today will put protecting the environment at the heart of our plans, while bringing forward much needed new homes across the country.

“We will make sure that new development is surrounded by the right infrastructure and that local people are given an opportunity to shape their neighbourhood.”

Amendments being tabled will:

1. Tackle slow build out by developers to make sure much needed new homes are delivered. Developers will have to report annually to councils on their progress and councils will have new powers to block planning proposals from builders who have failed to deliver on the same land.
2. Improve our environment and enshrine in law an obligation on water companies to clean up our rivers by upgrading wastewater treatment works. These upgrades will enable housebuilding to be unlocked by reducing the amount of mitigation developers must provide to offset nutrient pollution.
3. Give residents a new tool to propose additional development on their street, like extensions to existing homes, through ‘street votes’. Planning permission will only be granted when an independent examiner is satisfied that certain requirements, such as on design, have been met and the proposal is endorsed at a referendum by the immediate community.
4. Enhancing powers for mayors to support them to managing their key route networks and increase transport connectivity across their area.
5. Help Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects such as wind farms and new major transport links be delivered more quickly, by enabling a small number of public bodies to charge for their statutory services to help them provide a better, reliable, quality of advice to developers and support faster planning decisions.

Image: EddieCloud / Shutterstock.com

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