Council officers are pushing for reforms to the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) regime, claiming caps on land values would speed up the delivery of new housebuilding.
A new study into the lessons councils could learn to improve housebuilding rates, published by the Local Government Association (LGA) today, revealed council officers’ frustrations with the current CPO system.
The report read: ‘The role of CPOs was cited in interviews with officers and with agents/developers.
‘There is a need to make it easier for authorities or the newly-reformed Homes England and local planning authorities to enter into CPOs to get sites moving – this might include the ability to cap land values and use the uplift to forward-fund infrastructure.’
Planning authorities have often been blamed for slow build-out rates.
But in the foreword to the report, chair of the LGA’s housing board, Cllr Martin Tett, wrote: ‘It is an issue that continues to frustrate local councils and the communities they represent – and one that now needs to move beyond the binary argument of it being the fault of local planning authorities or developers hoarding land.’
Instead, the report urges councils and house-builders to work more closely together to deliver timely and appropriate housing developments, and highlights case studies of successful developments across local authorities.
Register now for full access
Register just once to get unrestricted, real-time coverage of the issues and challenges facing UK transport and highways engineers.
Full website content includes the latest news, exclusive commentary from leading industry figures and detailed topical analysis of the highways, transportation, environment and place-shaping sectors.
Use the link below to register your details for full, free access.
Already a registered? Login
