House-building reforms paused amid Conservative MP anger

The government is pausing its controversial planning reforms in England amid an angry backlash from Conservative MPs, government sources have told the BBC.

Michael Gove - who was given the role of housing secretary on Wednesday - is said to want to address MPs' concerns.

The government has pledged to build 300,000 new homes a year.

And ministers had insisted the planning rules needed a radical shake-up to ensure more homes could be delivered.

Under their proposals, the current system - where local planning officials assess applications case-by-case - would be replaced with new rules based on zones.

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Councils in England would have to classify all land in their area as "protected", for "renewal", or for "growth".

In protected areas, including areas of natural beauty, places at risk of flooding, and the green belt, development would generally remain restricted.

But councils would have to look favourably on development in "renewal" areas, whilst in "growth" zones, applications conforming to pre-agreed local plans would automatically gain initial approval.

Local residents would get a say on new 10-year plans underpinning the zones, but their ability to comment on individual applications would be curtailed.

Councils would have to plan for a share of homes from the government's 300,000 annual house building target for England.

'Gagging residents'

Politicians have generally agreed on the need for more affordable homes in England.

In 2020 research conducted by the BBC found that the difference between the current housing stock and the number needed for everyone to have a decent home to live in is more than one million homes

However, the plans had been met by resistance from the government's own MPs as well as the opposition.

In a Commons debate last year, former Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May described the proposals as "ill-conceived" and warned that it would "build up planning permissions, but not houses".

Earlier this year, the Conservatives lost their previously safe seat of Chesham and Amersham, in part due to local concerns over increased house building.

Labour's shadow communities secretary Steve Reed said the reforms should be "scrapped altogether" adding that they risked "selling out communities and gagging residents from having a say over development in their area".

Another Conservative MP, Bob Seely, who had been highly critical of the changes welcomed the pause. He told the BBC he and other MPs would be meeting Mr Gove next week.

He said change was needed but expressed concern that the current proposals would give "too much power to developers".

Theresa May has been a prominent critic of the government's planning proposals

Another critic, Conservative Sir Roger Gale, said: "The zoning concept has got to go and I want a clear undertaking that there will be presumption that top quality agricultural land will not be developed on."

Speaking to the BBC's World at One, Gemma Burgess, a Cambridge University housing expert, said the pause would "create a period of uncertainty" and developers and house builders were likely to get "nervous" because "we don't know what's coming next".

Andrew Whitaker, of The Home Builders Federation, said the "very inefficient" current system needed reform because it allowed people too many "bites of the cherry" when it came to objecting developments.

He added that there were "too many local authorities, particularly in the south-east of England… who don't care about delivering the number of houses that they need in their local area".

Donations row

The appointment of Mr Gove to the housing department, has been met with apprehension in some quarters, given his reputation as a radical reformer.

One Conservative MP told the BBC: "We can't tell whether he's been appointed to build any and everywhere regardless of the opposition, or whether he's been appointed to deliver some sort of compromise."

A Labour councillor expressed concern Mr Gove would override any opposition to changes, adding "the fear is he'll fly in, make his mark, and fly out like he did in education" - a reference to his school reforms and battles with the teachers' unions.

Meanwhile, Mr Gove has faced calls to return £100,000 in donations from a property developer on 6 August to avoid any conflict of interest.

Parliamentary records show that he received two donations of £50,000 each from Zachariasz Gertler, a British/German developer.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: "The Tories are much more interested in taking developers' cash than they are in building affordable and social housing."

A spokesperson for the Housing, Communities and Local Government said all donations made to Mr Gove "have been declared publicly and the proper process followed".