Ten things we want to see from the Planning and Infrastructure Bill (PIB)

The government is set to introduce the Planning and Infrastructure Bill (PIB) tomorrow as part of its commitment to ‘get Britain building’

The planning system is key to getting key infrastructure and new, genuinely affordable homes built in the right place. The government’s reforms should enhance the role of the planning system, strengthen environmental protections and boost opportunities for community engagement. Here are the ten things we want the new bill to do:

1. Keep local people at the heart of planning decisions

The planning system works best when local people are meaningfully involved. We need to modernise planning committees to make engagement easier for everyone. Any streamlining must not come at the expense of public participation and local accountability.

2. Make sure planning departments have the resources they need

The push for new homes and infrastructure is putting local planning authorities under a lot of pressure. While additional funding is welcome, money alone won’t address the skills gap and lack of technical expertise in many authorities. The Bill should provide both funding increases and support planners to develop the skills they need to do their jobs effectively.

3. Incentivise brownfield development

The Bill proposes ‘brownfield passports’ to accelerate redevelopment of previously used land. We support this approach, including appropriate increases in the density of urban areas with local character taken into careful consideration. Prioritising brownfield sites would safeguard our finite supply of land and help to regenerate town and village centres.

4. Set clear targets for affordable and social housing

The Bill should establish clear, ambitious targets for the delivery of affordable and social homes in both urban and rural areas. This would help ensure new developments meet actual local housing needs rather than simply maximising housebuilder profits.

5. Redefine ‘affordable’ housing

The current definition of so-called ‘affordable’ housing is 80% of market value. This means ‘affordable’ homes are often anything but, particularly for people in rural areas, where house prices are higher and incomes lower than in towns and cities. We need a more realistic definition that links affordability to local incomes rather than market rates, ensuring that new homes are genuinely accessible to those who need them.

6. Abolish ‘hope value’

Under current legislation, public bodies acquiring land via compulsory purchase orders are forced to pay the maximum possible value (‘hope value’) that developing the land could create. This reduces the amount of money public bodies can use to deliver genuinely affordable and social homes. By making sure the market value of land reflects its current use instead, the government would improve the economic viability of social housing and ensure more of it gets built.

7. Reform viability assessments

Too often, developers use viability assessments, where developers change their plans after being granted planning permission, to water down their commitments to building affordable housing and important amenities. The Bill should strengthen rules to hold developers to their original promises, particularly for the provision of social and affordable homes.

8. Strengthen environmental protections in infrastructure planning

A reformed planning approach to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects shouldn’t come at the expense of environmental safeguards. The Bill should ensure that National Policy Statements include robust environmental requirements and that all major infrastructure projects contribute positively to nature recovery and climate goals beyond merely mitigating harm.

9. Introduce planning controls on short-term lets and second homes

Rural communities are being hollowed out by the proliferation of holiday lets and second homes. We urgently need new planning controls on properties not used as primary residences. We support new planning controls on second homes and short-term lets.

10. Ensure communities benefit from infrastructure development

When significant infrastructure is built in rural areas, local communities should see tangible benefits, ideally in the form of community-wide benefits. The Bill should establish a framework for allocating compensation to impacted communities through local employment, skills training, community facilities and environmental enhancements.

The new Planning and Infrastructure Bill is a significant opportunity to create a planning system that delivers for people and the planet. As deliberations continue in the coming months, CPRE will continue to advocate for a planning system that balances necessary development with environmental protection and genuine community involvement. By incorporating these ten key points, the government can ensure that development truly works for communities while protecting and enhancing the countryside.