Mayors to get powers to stop planning delays in England, Angela Rayner to say

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Mayors to get powers to stop planning delays in England, Angela Rayner to say
Author: Jessica Elgot Deputy political editor
Published: Dec, 16 2024 00:01

Pledge set out in white paper to be unveiled this week is part of a ‘devolution by default’ approach by Whitehall. Mayors will be given sweeping powers to unblock planning delays for major building projects in England, Angela Rayner has announced, as she promised a “devolution by default” approach to handing down authority from Whitehall.

The pledge set out in the white paper to be unveiled this week will give regions more planning powers over housing numbers and will identify key developments and infrastructure needed to support growth, from roads to major junctions, water reservoirs, freight and logistics.

The document will propose creating strategic authorities across England to hold new devolved powers, though the organisational shake-up is likely to cause a backlash from smaller district councils. The drive is part of a major building push across departments, led by Rayner, who is the housing, communities and local government secretary, along with the energy secretary, Ed Miliband. The devolution announcement comes a week after Rayner set out a major overhaul of national planning policy to give English councils mandatory targets to build 370,000 homes a year.

Though Rayner will promise on Monday that more decisions will be put in the hands of people with “skin in the game”, there will still be top-down targets to push areas to meet housing and development demand and to stop local objections from blocking projects of strategic importance.

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