Latest news with #NorthEastHertfordshire
The Independent
19 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Labour rebel forces Commons vote amid fears of housebuilding reforms ‘wreckage'
Labour MPs have rebelled against the Government over its plans to override nature protections, amid fears its housebuilding reforms amount to a 'wreckage'. Housing minister Matthew Pennycook said developers will be able to pay into a new nature recovery fund to bolster conservation efforts, which he denied was a 'cash to trash model'. But North East Hertfordshire MP Chris Hinchliff forced a division on his amendment 69, which would compel developers to improve the conservation status of environmental features on their land before causing 'damage'. MPs voted to reject the amendment, with 180 in favour, 307 against, majority 127. Mother of the House Diane Abbott, Ian Lavery (Blyth and Ashington) and Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) were among the 14 Labour MPs who rebelled against the Government. In addition to Mr Hinchliff, Labour's Olivia Blake (Sheffield Hallam), Richard Burgon (Leeds East), Ian Byrne (Liverpool West Derby), Brian Leishman (Alloa and Grangemouth), Clive Lewis (Norwich South), Rachael Maskell (York Central), Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough and Thornaby East), Kate Osborne (Jarrow and Gateshead East), Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Clapham and Brixton Hill), Marie Rimmer (St Helens South and Whiston), and Nadia Whittome (Nottingham East) also voted in favour of the amendment. Mr Hinchliff told the Commons that the fund was a 'kernel of a good idea', but added: 'The weight of evidence against how it has been drafted is overwhelming.' The money will help Natural England set up new environmental delivery plans (EDPs), which Mr Hinchliff said should come with a timeline for their implementation. He said the proposal will give 'ministers the opportunity to rescue something positive from the wreckage of this legislation, ensuring environmental delivery plans serve their purpose without allowing developers to pay cash to destroy nature'. He added: 'It would ensure conservation takes place before damage, so endangered species aren't pushed close to extinction before replacement habitats are established, and it outlines that conservation must result in improvements to the specific feature harmed, protecting irreplaceable habitats like chalk streams.' Mr Hinchliff had also called for a residents' right of appeal against green-lit large developments, if they are not on sites which a council has set aside for building, and new town hall powers to block developers' plans, if they have failed to finish their previous projects. Mr Pennycook had earlier said the 'status quo' for the environment and development was not working, and instead proposed reforms which he described as a 'win-win' for both. He said: 'The Nature Restoration Fund will do exactly as its name suggests. It will restore, not harm nature. It is a smart planning reform designed to unlock and accelerate housing and infrastructure delivery while improving the state of nature across the country.' He later told MPs: 'I feel obliged to tackle a number of the most flagrant misconceptions head on. 'First, some have claimed that driven by a belief that development must come at the expense of the environment, the Government is creating a licence for developers to pay to pollute. A cash-to-trash model, as some have dubbed it. In reality, the nature and restoration fund will do the precise opposite. 'I have been consistently clear that building new homes and critical infrastructure should not, and need not, come at the expense of the environment. It is plainly nonsense to suggest the Nature Restoration Fund would allow developers to simply pay Government and then wantonly harm nature.' Mr Pennycook said the money would be given to Natural England, which is set to get powers to acquire land compulsorily to put its EDPs into practice. Labour MP for Poole Neil Duncan-Jordan, who acted as a teller for the ayes to enable the vote to take place, criticised the Government's rhetoric, and argued it was 'too simplistic to argue that this is a debate of builders versus blockers'. He said 'there's no amount of killing badgers or red tape bonfires which is going to fix' what he described as a 'developer-led model' of planning, when housebuilders 'drip feed developments into the system, prioritising properties which maximise profit and are far from affordable for local people'. The Conservatives accused the Government of 'greenwashing'. Conservative shadow housing minister Paul Holmes said: 'While developers may cheer the ability to pay into a Nature Restoration Fund instead of taking direct responsibility for mitigations, we should ask, is this really restoration, or is it greenwashing?' Mr Pennycook said the new laws were needed to 'speed up and streamline' Labour's housing target of 1.5 million homes, clean energy goals and aim to approve at least 150 'major economic infrastructure projects'. Several MPs had called for swift bricks – hollow bricks where small birds can make their nests – in new builds, in amendments drafted by Labour's Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Suffolk Coastal) and Barry Gardiner (Brent West), and Liberal Democrat housing spokesman Gideon Amos. At the despatch box, Mr Pennycook said that 'changing national planning policy is the more effective route to securing swift bricks as a standard feature of the vast majority of new builds', through a regularly updated set of planning rules. 'We are specifically giving consideration to using a new suite of national policies for decision making to require swift bricks to be incorporated into new buildings unless there are compelling reasons which preclude their use, or which would make them ineffective,' the minister said. 'This would significantly strengthen the planning policy expectations already in place, meaning for example that we would expect to see at least one swift brick in all new brick-built houses.'
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Angela Rayner faces Labour backbench rebellion over her plans to build 1.5million new homes in England by 2029
could face a backbench rebellion from Labour MPs over the party's drive to build 1.5 million homes in England by 2029. The Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary is fronting the Government's 'radical' overhaul of the planning system, which aims to revive housing targets for local councils and 'get Britain building again'. Its plans would require 370,000 homes to be built each year, which industry leaders claim there is 'little chance' of reaching as figures show the party is already falling short of its target by 170,000. And now, in the latest a blow to Ms Rayner's housebuilding goals, one Labour MP has threatened to trigger civil war over his demands to find a 'progressive alternative' to parts of her proposals. Labour 's Chris Hinchliff has proposed a suite of changes to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill ahead of its debate in Parliament on Monday. The North East Hertfordshire MP has suggested arming town halls with the power to block developers' housebuilding plans, if they have failed to finish their previous projects. He has also suggested housebuilding objectors should be able to appeal against green-lit large developments, if they are not on sites which a council has set aside for building. Mr Hinchliff has claimed he does not 'want to rebel' but said he would be prepared to trigger a vote over his proposals. He added his ambition was for 'a progressive alternative to our planning system and the developer-led profit-motivated model that we have at the moment'. Mr Hinchliff said: 'Frankly, to deliver the genuinely affordable housing that we need for communities like those I represent, we just have to smash that model. 'So, what I'm setting out is a set of proposals that would focus on delivering the genuinely affordable homes that we need, empowering local communities and councils to have a driving say over what happens in the local area, and also securing genuine protection for the environment going forwards.' Mr Hinchliff warned that the current system results in 'speculative' applications on land which falls outside of councils' local housebuilding strategies, 'putting significant pressure on inadequate local infrastructure'. In his constituency, which lies between London and Cambridge, 'the properties that are being built are not there to meet local need', Mr Hinchliff said, but were instead 'there to be sold for the maximum profit the developer can make'. Asked whether his proposals chimed with the first of Labour's five 'missions' at last year's general election - 'growth' - he replied: 'If we want to have the key workers that our communities need - the nurses, the social care workers, the bus drivers, the posties - they need to have genuinely affordable homes. 'You can't have that thriving economy without the workforce there, but at the moment, the housing that we are delivering is not likely to be affordable for those sorts of roles. 'It's effectively turning the towns into commuter dormitories rather than having thriving local economies, so for me, yes, it is about supporting the local economy.' Mr Hinchliff warned that the 'bottleneck' which slows housebuilding 'is not process, it's profit'. Among the proposed reforms is a power for ministers to decide which schemes should come before councillors, and which should be delegated to local authority staff, so that committees can 'focus their resources on complex or contentious development where local democratic oversight is required'. Natural England will also be able to draft 'environmental delivery plans (EDPs)' and acquire land compulsorily to bolster conservation efforts. Mr Hinchliff has suggested these EDPs must come with a timeline for their implementation, and that developers should improve the conservation status of any environmental features before causing 'damage' - a proposal which has support from at least 43 cross-party MP backers. MPs will spend two days debating the Bill on Monday and Tuesday. Chris Curtis, the Labour MP for Milton Keynes North, warned that some of Mr Hinchliff's proposals 'if enacted, would deepen our housing crisis and push more families into poverty'. He said: 'I won't stand by and watch more children in the country end up struggling in temporary accommodation to appease pressure groups. No Labour MP should. 'It's morally reprehensible to play games with this issue. These amendments should be withdrawn.' The prospect of a backbench rebellion sparks another blow to the Government's housebuilding plans just one day after a report cast doubt on whether it would be able to meet its 2029 target at all. A bleak report by the Home Builders Federation yesterday showed Labour is falling short of its target by 170,000 homes a year. Industry leaders said the data was 'disastrous' and without urgent support from ministers there is 'little chance' of reaching the goal. Just 39,170 homes were given planning permission in England in the first three months of the year – the lowest quarterly figure since records began. That was a 55 per cent drop on the previous quarter and almost 32 per cent lower than a year earlier. The 225,067 units given approval in the 12 months to the end of March was the worst performance in 12 years. The federation said its data 'starkly illustrates the urgent need for Government to address the barriers to housing supply' if they are to get 'anywhere near the much-vaunted' target.
The Independent
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Rayner faces Labour backbench call to ‘smash' existing housebuilding model
Angela Rayner could face a backbench rebellion from MPs demanding a 'progressive alternative to our planning system'. Labour's Chris Hinchliff has proposed a suite of changes to the Government's flagship Planning and Infrastructure Bill, part of his party's drive to build 1.5 million homes in England by 2029. Mr Hinchliff has proposed arming town halls with the power to block developers' housebuilding plans, if they have failed to finish their previous projects. He has also suggested housebuilding objectors should be able to appeal against green-lit large developments, if they are not on sites which a council has set aside for building, and put forward a new duty for authorities to protect chalk streams from 'pollution, abstraction, encroachment and other forms of environmental damage'. Mr Hinchliff has told the PA news agency he does not 'want to rebel' but said he would be prepared to trigger a vote over his proposals. He added his ambition was for 'a progressive alternative to our planning system and the developer-led profit-motivated model that we have at the moment'. The North East Hertfordshire MP said: 'Frankly, to deliver the genuinely affordable housing that we need for communities like those I represent, we just have to smash that model. 'So, what I'm setting out is a set of proposals that would focus on delivering the genuinely affordable homes that we need, empowering local communities and councils to have a driving say over what happens in the local area, and also securing genuine protection for the environment going forwards.' Mr Hinchliff warned that the current system results in 'speculative' applications on land which falls outside of councils' local housebuilding strategies, 'putting significant pressure on inadequate local infrastructure'. In his constituency, which lies between London and Cambridge, 'the properties that are being built are not there to meet local need', Mr Hinchliff said, but were instead 'there to be sold for the maximum profit the developer can make'. Asked whether his proposals chimed with the first of Labour's five 'missions' at last year's general election – 'growth' – he replied: 'If we want to have the key workers that our communities need – the nurses, the social care workers, the bus drivers, the posties – they need to have genuinely affordable homes. 'You can't have that thriving economy without the workforce there, but at the moment, the housing that we are delivering is not likely to be affordable for those sorts of roles. 'It's effectively turning the towns into commuter dormitories rather than having thriving local economies, so for me, yes, it is about supporting the local economy.' Mr Hinchliff warned that the 'bottleneck' which slows housebuilding 'is not process, it's profit'. Ms Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary, is fronting the Government's plans for 1.5 million new homes by 2029. Among the proposed reforms is a power for ministers to decide which schemes should come before councillors, and which should be delegated to local authority staff, so that committees can 'focus their resources on complex or contentious development where local democratic oversight is required'. Natural England will also be able to draft 'environmental delivery plans (EDPs)' and acquire land compulsorily to bolster conservation efforts. Mr Hinchliff has suggested these EDPs must come with a timeline for their implementation, and that developers should improve the conservation status of any environmental features before causing 'damage' – a proposal which has support from at least 43 cross-party MP backers. MPs will spend two days debating the Bill on Monday and Tuesday. Chris Curtis, the Labour MP for Milton Keynes North, warned that some of Mr Hinchliff's proposals 'if enacted, would deepen our housing crisis and push more families into poverty'. He said: 'I won't stand by and watch more children in the country end up struggling in temporary accommodation to appease pressure groups. No Labour MP should. 'It's morally reprehensible to play games with this issue. 'These amendments should be withdrawn.'
The Guardian
17-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Planning bill will ‘push public towards Reform': Labour's Chris Hinchliff on standing up for nature
Keir Starmer's planning bill will 'push the public towards Reform', a Labour MP has said as he urges his colleagues to back amendments to the legislation. Chris Hinchliff, MP for North East Hertfordshire, has submitted a package of amendments to the bill, which as it stands, lets developers 'pay cash to trash nature', he said. These will be debated in parliament during the report stage in early June. One of his amendments, to protect chalk streams, was rejected by the government this week. A growing number of backbenchers are becoming concerned and angry about the bill, with Clive Lewis and Terry Jermy among those supporting amendments to strengthen protections for nature. Labour's plan to build 1.5m homes by 2029 will, it believes, be expedited by passing the planning and infrastructure bill, which is at its committee stage in parliament. The government argues that the proposed legislation will speed up housing developments and large infrastructure projects by allowing developers to avoid meeting environmental obligations to protect habitats and species such as barn owls, otters, bats and newts, at the site of their project. Instead they will pay into a central nature restoration fund (NRF) that will be used to create environmental improvement elsewhere. But there is growing concern about the impacts of these plans, with government officials admitting this nature improvement could be carried out in a different county to where a building project is taking place. Pretty much every nature and environment group in England has objected to the bill as it stands. The National Trust, RSPB, and the Wildlife Trusts have said the proposed legislation puts rare habitats at risk and does not give any kind of baseline on which to measure environmental improvement. Hinchliff told the Guardian that these changes meant Labour would be 'fighting communities, kicking and screaming', adding: 'All that will do is push, push the public towards Reform and that politicians aren't interested in what they think and what matters for their local community.' His amendments include changing environmental delivery plans, so environmental improvement is guaranteed before development begins rather than after it finishes; having targets for socially rented home delivery; and giving people the right to appeal decisions on developments they think are harmful to the local area. Hinchliff's proposals have made him unpopular among some commentators. He has been accused of being part of 'hedgehog Hezbollah' and is constantly called a 'nimby' for suggesting amendments to the bill. But he rebuffed such labels, saying: 'No, I don't think I'm a nimby. There are housing developments in my town just around the corner from me that I think are quite sensible. We've got a town in my constituency that is due to double in size, and I'm not opposing that.' Taking on the government like this might make him unpopular, but Hincliff shrugged. 'If it makes me less popular with the government, it makes me less popular with the government,' he said. The bill allows for developers to potentially damage irreplaceable habitats such as chalk streams and pay for them to be offset with nature elsewhere. But nature experts argue that chalk streams cannot be replaced as they are unique and rare ecosystems that only arise under certain conditions. 'There's a lot of chalk streams in my constituency. They're one of the things that residents really care about and love about the constituency that we live in,' Hinchliff said. 'One the reasons why I tabled that amendment is because some habitats are irreplaceable, and it's important that we protect those from damage, because you can't just give developers the right pay cash to trash nature like that.' That amendment was rejected on Wednesday by the Labour MPs on the parliamentary committee examining the draft law. On the same day, the government admitted in its risk assessment of the bill that there was very little evidence that nature protections blocked developments. Removing these protections on this basis was 'dangerous', Hinchliff said. 'Many habitats are on the brink. Species are on the brink. And if we allow harm and pollution to go ahead on the proviso that in the future, will have a pot of money and will make things better those ecosystems will be functionally dead in many instances, if we're not careful.' He added: 'When I read our manifesto, I took away from that very clear message that we were going to deliver the housing that the country needed in tandem with protecting the environment.' Hinchliff has been alarmed by criticism of the bill by the Office for Environmental Protection and Sir Partha Dasgupta, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Cambridge. Hinchliff said some Labour colleagues had come on board with his campaign, and there could be a sizeable group of rebels: 'It's a hugely political issue that matters to an awful lot of people, and I think my colleagues will feel the heat on this. I've been really pleased with the level of support I've received. I've had a good number of colleagues get back to say that they're willing to support my amendments,' he said. Despite potentially being out of step with the party leadership at present, which has said it backs the 'builders' rather than the 'blockers' and prioritises homes over bats and newts, Hinchliff said he was standing up for traditional Labour values. 'What I'm standing up for is a long and proud tradition of Labour values and that people from across the Labour movement have fought for for generations,' he said. 'Let's not forget, it was the Labour government which created the greenbelt, Labour politicians who created our national parks. These are all Labour traditions, and I'm hoping that I can persuade my party to look closely and seriously at the proposals I've put forward.'
