>> Angela Rayner reforms planning to protect England’s pubs and boost housebuilding
> Ministers are set to step up protections for English pubs to stop them being converted into offices, shops or homes amid concerns about the death of the high street.
> Angela Rayner, housing secretary, will on Monday announce changes to the national planning policy framework to make it impossible for developers to close down pubs unless there is “no reasonable prospect” of keeping them going.
> The new measures include a requirement for evidence that the pub was marketed for sale for at least 12 months before a change of use can even be considered.
> Some local authorities already make it difficult for developers to change a pub’s use. For example, Lambeth council requires a pub to have been on the market for three years before it can have a change of use.
> The previous Labour administration had launched a consultation in December into changes to the NPPF, which provides guidance to councils in England.
> CAMRA, which campaigns on behalf of pubs and beer drinkers, criticised the original proposal for only giving increased protection to pubs if they were the last in an area. But Rayner will say that all pubs will have the same protection.
> Andy Burnham has already committed to a 20 per cent cut to business rates for pubs, clubs and similar social venues throughout England from April next year.
> As part of the same shake-up of the NPPF rules, ministers will also make it easier to build new homes around train, tram and underground stations.
> The measure comes as the government is struggling to boost housebuilding volumes to meet its ambitious target of 1.5mn new homes during the current five-year parliament.
> The number of housing developments getting planning permission fell to a new 20-year low in the first quarter of this year, according to the Home Builders Federation.
> The HBF said just 1,220 sites received approvals in England, down from nearly 3,000 in 2017 and the lowest since the dataset began in 2006.
> “At 1,220, the number of private-sector housing projects (schemes of three or more units) securing approval was 14 per cent lower than in the fourth quarter of 2025 and 17 per cent down on Q1 2025,” it said.
> Sir James Cleverly, shadow housing secretary, said: “Labour are failing abysmally to meet their 1.5mn homes target. Because of their tax hikes, their failure to cut red tape and the bloated bureaucracy of Labour mayors like Sadiq Khan, Britain is not getting the new homes it needs.”
> The housing department said the reforms would fast-track quality homes around stations while connecting communities.
> Under the revised NPPF there will be a default “yes” for homes within reasonable walking distance of well-connected stations, alongside new minimum expectations for how much housing should be built in these areas.
> That policy was first announced in November but the housing department said it would now apply to more stations around the country.
> The guidance has also been tweaked so that the minimum densities for buildings in those locations will be higher where trains are more frequent.
> The government said it was cutting unnecessary bureaucracy by reducing blanket consultation requirements that have slowed planning decisions.
> “Councils will no longer need sign-off from public bodies where specialist advice is not needed, while expert input will be focused on the cases where it adds most value,” it said.
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>> Angela Rayner reforms planning to protect England’s pubs and boost housebuilding
> Ministers are set to step up protections for English pubs to stop them being converted into offices, shops or homes amid concerns about the death of the high street.
> Angela Rayner, housing secretary, will on Monday announce changes to the national planning policy framework to make it impossible for developers to close down pubs unless there is “no reasonable prospect” of keeping them going.
> The new measures include a requirement for evidence that the pub was marketed for sale for at least 12 months before a change of use can even be considered.
> Some local authorities already make it difficult for developers to change a pub’s use. For example, Lambeth council requires a pub to have been on the market for three years before it can have a change of use.
> The previous Labour administration had launched a consultation in December into changes to the NPPF, which provides guidance to councils in England.
> CAMRA, which campaigns on behalf of pubs and beer drinkers, criticised the original proposal for only giving increased protection to pubs if they were the last in an area. But Rayner will say that all pubs will have the same protection.
> Andy Burnham has already committed to a 20 per cent cut to business rates for pubs, clubs and similar social venues throughout England from April next year.
> As part of the same shake-up of the NPPF rules, ministers will also make it easier to build new homes around train, tram and underground stations.
> The measure comes as the government is struggling to boost housebuilding volumes to meet its ambitious target of 1.5mn new homes during the current five-year parliament.
> The number of housing developments getting planning permission fell to a new 20-year low in the first quarter of this year, according to the Home Builders Federation.
> The HBF said just 1,220 sites received approvals in England, down from nearly 3,000 in 2017 and the lowest since the dataset began in 2006.
> “At 1,220, the number of private-sector housing projects (schemes of three or more units) securing approval was 14 per cent lower than in the fourth quarter of 2025 and 17 per cent down on Q1 2025,” it said.
> Sir James Cleverly, shadow housing secretary, said: “Labour are failing abysmally to meet their 1.5mn homes target. Because of their tax hikes, their failure to cut red tape and the bloated bureaucracy of Labour mayors like Sadiq Khan, Britain is not getting the new homes it needs.”
> The housing department said the reforms would fast-track quality homes around stations while connecting communities.
> Under the revised NPPF there will be a default “yes” for homes within reasonable walking distance of well-connected stations, alongside new minimum expectations for how much housing should be built in these areas.
> That policy was first announced in November but the housing department said it would now apply to more stations around the country.
> The guidance has also been tweaked so that the minimum densities for buildings in those locations will be higher where trains are more frequent.
> The government said it was cutting unnecessary bureaucracy by reducing blanket consultation requirements that have slowed planning decisions.
> “Councils will no longer need sign-off from public bodies where specialist advice is not needed, while expert input will be focused on the cases where it adds most value,” it said.