Weekly planning news

Andy Burnham pledges to tackle rough sleeping as new prime minister 

Andy Burnham has pledged to end long-term rough sleeping in his first policy announcement as prime minister. 

The announcement was made outside Downing Street in London on Monday, 20 July, shortly after Burnham became prime minister. 

The government has said an additional £340 million will be allocated to support the programme.  

According to the BBC, the funding is expected to provide 1,200 homes and intensive support for at least 3,000 people in England over a five-year period. 

The first steps will focus on helping people who have been sleeping rough for a long time to move into secure housing. This is expected to include the acquisition of suitable homes. 

Burnham said the government would work with national and local government to deliver the commitment, with the aim of getting people off the streets at the earliest opportunity. 

The latest annual national statistics¹ estimated that 4,793 people were sleeping rough on a single night in autumn 2025 in England. This was the fourth annual increase in a row. 

Previously, Andy Burnham announced plans² for what he described as the “biggest council housebuilding programme since the postwar period”, with proposals focused on council-led housing delivery, vacant public land and a stronger role for local authorities in regeneration. 

The programme follows the previous government’s national plan³ to end homelessness, which was published in December and backed by £3.6 billion. 

Angela Rayner has also returned as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, the department responsible for housing, planning and local government. 

Mayor of London sets out 558,000 new homes plan with new affordable housing targets

The Mayor of London has published a new London Plan⁴, outlining how the capital could deliver 558,000 new homes by 2037. The plan also includes changes to how many affordable homes developers may need to include in new schemes. 

According to the BBC⁵, the proposals would replace the current city-wide affordable housing approach with borough-specific targets from March 2028. This means different boroughs could have different affordable housing targets, depending on local circumstances. 

Under the proposals, some boroughs would be set a 35% affordable housing target, while others would be set at 20% or 25%.  

The changes come less than a year after the emergency measures⁶ agreed by the Mayor and government to support housebuilding in London. This included a time-limited route for some private developments to move forward with at least 20% affordable housing, below the usual 35% threshold. 

The plan also considers where new homes could be built. It notes that brownfield land will remain the priority for development, but that this alone will not be enough to meet London’s long-term housing needs. It proposes some limited and selective Green Belt release where this is supported by evidence and delivers public benefits. 

Building Design⁷ reported that the plan includes proposals for infrastructure investment and measures to help new buildings manage overheating through passive design. 

The draft plan highlights the scale of housing need in London. It says the 558,000-home target would require national support, investment in transport and community infrastructure.  

Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan said the draft plan is a “blueprint” for how London can build a “fairer, greener and more prosperous” city. 

The consultation is open until 15 October 2026.  

You can read more on the London Plan consultation page⁸.  

Government proposes new CIL relief to support London housing  

The government has launched a further consultation⁹ on plans to temporarily reduce Community Infrastructure Levy costs for eligible housing schemes in Greater London. 

The Community Infrastructure Levy, often known as CIL, is a charge developers pay to help fund local infrastructure such as schools, parks and transport improvements. 

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is seeking views on the proposed regulations needed to bring the relief into effect. The relief would apply to the borough-level part of CIL, which is collected by London boroughs to support local infrastructure. 

Under the proposals, eligible schemes delivering at least 20% social and affordable housing could receive partial relief from borough-level CIL. Higher levels of relief could also be available for schemes delivering more affordable homes. 

The government noted that the borough-level CIL can represent a significant upfront cost for developers in London. The proposed relief could help unlock residential schemes that may otherwise remain stalled, while still allowing boroughs to receive some CIL funding for infrastructure. 

Inside Housing¹⁰ reported that the draft regulations also cover what would happen if developers do not meet the agreed requirements, including if the amount of affordable housing promised is reduced. 

The consultation has been launched shortly after the publication of the new draft London Plan¹¹, which includes proposals for borough-specific affordable housing targets from March 2028. 

The consultation is open until 18 September 2026.

Government to consult on extending judicial review reforms for housing schemes 

The government has launched a consultation on proposed judicial review reforms for major planning regimes in England and Wales. 

The proposals focus on whether reforms already introduced for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects should be extended to other strategically important developments, including housing, transport and energy schemes. 

Key updates include limiting repeated unsuccessful legal challenges and setting clearer court timetables.  

According to Building¹², the proposals could affect projects such as affordable housing schemes, road upgrades and solar farms. 

The government said the reforms are intended to reduce delays caused by weak or low-merit legal challenges, while keeping judicial review as a safeguard for holding public decisions to account. 

The recent reforms¹³ for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects were designed to reduce delays from low-merit legal challenges and help major infrastructure cases move through the courts more quickly. 

Sarah Sackman KC MP, minister for courts and legal services, said: “Britain needs more homes, better transport links and new infrastructure. Legal challenges which lack merit should not be allowed to hold back the developments that create jobs, drive growth and strengthen communities. 

“Judicial review will remain a vital safeguard, but it cannot be a vehicle for delay. We want to protect access to justice while getting nationally important projects built faster.” 

The consultation is open until 27 August 2026. You can read more here¹⁴.

1. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rough-sleeping-snapshot-in-england-autumn-2025
2. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/services/weekly-planning-news/planning-news-6-july-2026
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-national-plan-to-end-homelessness
4. https://www.london.gov.uk/mayor-publishes-streamlined-draft-london-plan-boost-affordable-housing-and-support-growth-jobs-and?
5. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1jyj550k99o?
6. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/support-for-housebuilding-in-london-package-of-support?
7. https://www.bdonline.co.uk/news/khan-reveals-tiered-affordability-thresholds-and-558000-home-target-in-draft-london-plan/5143234.article?
8. https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/planning/london-plan/next-london-plan/draft-london-plan-consultation?
9. https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/time-limited-relief-from-the-community-infrastructure-levy-in-london?
10. https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/mhclg-launches-further-consultation-on-cil-relief-for-developers-97962?
11. https://www.london.gov.uk/mayor-publishes-streamlined-draft-london-plan-boost-affordable-housing-and-support-growth-jobs-and?
12. https://www.building.co.uk/news/government-to-extend-judicial-review-reforms-to-housing-and-transport-projects/5143238.article?
13. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/getting-britain-building-reforming-judicial-review-for-infrastructure?
14. https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/judicial-review-reforms-beyond-nationally-significant-infrastructure-projects?