The government’s proposed planning reforms could make meeting annual housebuilding targets “impossible,” according to a report by a cross-party group of MPs published today. 

The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee has been looking into the government’s plans to scrap mandatory local housing targets. In December last year, the government said it planned to make the targets advisory rather than mandatory. It also plans to remove the need for local authorities to continually demonstrate a deliverable five-year housing land supply.

Today’s report says these changes will make the government’s target of building 300,000 homes in England per year by the mid-2020s “difficult” and that it has heard evidence from many stakeholders that it will render the national housing target “impossible to achieve”.

The report highlights the importance of ensuring affordable housing forms a substantial proportion of the 300,000 new homes delivered each year. It calls on the government to include 90,000 Social Rent homes per year as part of its 300,000 building target.