New planning rules taking effect in England on the day of this report will create a presumption in favour of approving housing developments within a short walk of railway stations, including on green belt land, in an effort to accelerate stalled housebuilding. The revised National Planning Policy Framework introduces minimum housing targets for these areas and applies most strongly around stations offering frequent services into major towns and cities. Ministers hope the change will help close the gap on their pledge to deliver 1.5m new homes by 2029, a target the government is currently only around a quarter of the way towards achieving two years into the parliament.
What exactly does the ‘default yes’ policy mean for stations and green belt land?
Under the policy, applications for housing near well-connected stations will be approved as a matter of course unless there are strong planning reasons not to, even where the land in question falls within the green belt. According to the government’s own consultation on the framework, this presumption would be underpinned by minimum housing densities of 40 dwellings per hectare around stations generally, rising to 50 dwellings per hectare around stations classed as “well-connected” — a detail not addressed in ministerial comments reported so far, according to the government’s consultation document. The same consultation stated that housing and mixed-use schemes near these stations would not automatically be treated as inappropriate development in the green belt, provided they satisfy other planning tests and the so-called green belt “Golden Rules”, according to the same document.
The specific locations that will be targeted have not yet been confirmed, though one of the stated criteria is that a nearby station must be able to run at least four trains per hour into a large urban centre. The policy is intended to cover both suitable sites within existing towns and cities and land outside settlement boundaries, including green belt, surrounding stations that meet the “well-connected” threshold, according to the consultation.
Asked directly whether the presumption would extend to green belt sites, the housing minister, Matthew Pennycook, told a broadcaster on the morning the rules came into force:
For well-connected stations outside of settlements, including the greenbelt, that default policy applies.
Pressed on the likely backlash from those wanting to preserve green belt land, he added:
It may cause some concern, but as I’ve said many, many times, we know there is not enough land on brownfield land registers across the country, so previously developed land, to deliver the volumes of homes our country needs each year, at least those that are viable and in the right location. So, in exceptional circumstances, greenbelt land should be developed on. We’ve got a sequential approach for how we judge the lower quality land to come forward in the first instance.
Why has housebuilding slowed, and what other changes are in the new framework?
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has pointed to a combination of higher mortgage rates and rising construction costs as key drivers behind the recent slowdown in new-build housing, explaining:
Higher mortgage interest rates are constraining affordability for first-time buyers and home movers, reducing the number of transactions and playing a key role in slowing house price growth. The impacts of this are most pronounced in the south of England (including London), where higher loan to income ratio lending is required, and therefore the impact of higher rates is greatest. This has had an impact on the demand for housing generally, and on the demand for new-build homes specifically, and is reflected in estimates of the number of mortgages issued for new-build purchases … In addition to higher interest rates, the end of Help to Buy, which had previously targeted significant support to first-time buyers to purchase new homes, has also played a role in softening demand. These trends away from new-build homes appear to be continuing, despite an overall increase in transactions, including from first-time buyers, to levels similar to those prior to the spike in interest rates (JRF analysis of Nationwide transactions data), suggesting that more residential buyers are purchasing existing homes. At the same time as prices have softened, inflation in building costs has continued to increase. This has led some to argue that housebuilding is becoming unviable in an increasing number of places, as the cost of building a home outstrips the price that a developer can command in the market.
Beyond the station-based presumption, the revised framework makes several other changes. It strengthens national planning policy so that local plans carry less weight where they conflict with national priorities, and introduces a clearer presumption in favour of development in locations judged sustainable. Pubs will gain additional protection, with developers required to demonstrate there is no realistic prospect of keeping a pub viable — including proof that it was actively marketed for sale for at least a year — before redevelopment can proceed. Larger developments will need at least 40% of homes to be accessible, alongside stronger safeguards for community facilities, while the framework also offers greater backing for growth-related infrastructure, including AI growth zones and data centres.
How have opposition parties reacted to the planning changes?
Reform UK’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, argued that the reforms cut against the government’s own devolution agenda, saying:
Far from empowering local councils who actually know their communities, they strip power from the people who live there and hand it to Whitehall so ministers can ram through major housing developments while sidelining residents and ignoring the infrastructure that already can’t cope.
The shadow housing secretary, James Cleverly, described the move as an attempt by ministers to distract from missed housebuilding targets, telling a broadcaster the changes were “a smokescreen to disguise the fact that they (Labour) have catastrophically failed to get stuff built”. He argued that the sector had struggled because building had become “prohibitively expensive” under the current government, saying: “You need building professionals, you need building materials, you need to be able to raise the capital.” He did not address the fact that housebuilding targets were also frequently missed under previous Conservative governments. Separately, Cleverly said: “To try to fix their own mess, [Labour] are planning a power grab, seizing control from local communities and forcing them to accept development in the wrong areas because Labour won’t build in the right areas. Labour’s planning power grab is exposing our green belt and countryside to unauthorised Traveller sites, and ministers are turning a blind eye.”
What is Reform UK proposing on welfare and disability benefits?
Robert Jenrick, Reform UK’s treasury spokesperson, used a press conference in central London to set out a package of welfare changes, including a requirement for long-term claimants deemed fit to work to carry out 20 hours of community work each week or risk losing their benefits. The scheme would be administered by local councils, and claimants who fail to take up available placements would have their funding withdrawn, he said.
Jenrick told journalists at the event:
They’ll work to clean up high streets and parks, to beautify neglected places, to carry out minor repairs, to staff libraries and community centres to perform many other tasks from the list that we’ve published today. We’ll also embrace local charities and community groups and ask them to help us and take part. If claimants refuse to participate or fail to show up, they’ll face penalties. Let me speak very plainly. If people who are capable of work refuse, then they’ll get nothing. That’s fair.
Jenrick said the “most vulnerable” claimants would continue to receive support, but that the Personal Independence Payment system would be replaced with a reformed benefit described as a “Pip health security allowance”. He said further changes — including altering child disability living allowance, cracking down on fraud and reinstating the two-child benefit cap — would together save £49bn, though he did not set out how much each individual measure would contribute. Separately, Reform has estimated that 2.89 million people would see their disability payments removed or altered under plans to scrap the current Pip system for people of working age.
What has Reform UK said about benefits for foreign nationals?
Reform UK also confirmed it would bar foreign nationals from claiming almost all forms of welfare support if it won power at the next general election. The list of affected payments includes housing benefit, pension credit, jobseeker’s allowance, child benefit, free childcare and disability benefits, with only a small number of exemptions such as the War Widows Pension and Armed Forces compensation payments.
The proposed ban would extend to EU nationals holding settled status in the UK, a move that would require renegotiating the UK’s withdrawal agreement with the EU and could, in turn, expose British citizens living in the EU to the loss of equivalent rights. Reform says the policy would save as much as £21bn a year by its fifth year in government, though critics have noted that the “vast majority” of migrants already have no access to the benefits system, arguing:
These plans would mean ripping up the UK’s withdrawal agreement with the EU, plunging the UK back into years of Brexit renegotiations and stripping support from potentially millions of people who have lawfully lived, worked and paid taxes in Britain for years, and in many cases decades. That includes people with settled status who are part of our communities, raising families, working and contributing to our economy.
The Green party’s deputy leader, Mothin Ali, criticised the proposals, saying:
Once again, the establishment parties are all trying to outdo each other when it comes to who can be the most xenophobic, who can punch down the hardest to the most vulnerable in our country, and who can cut the most support from disabled people. It is cowardly to take from the most defenceless when we should be taxing the super wealthy including those who are in the privileged position of accepting £5m donations.
Jenrick has previously said that extending restrictions on benefits and scrapping indefinite leave to remain for migrants could save £234bn over several decades, describing the payment of benefits to non-British nationals as “plain immoral”, despite many recipients having contributed through the tax system while working. In a newspaper column over the weekend, he also described spending on disability benefits as “not generosity … it is suicidal empathy”, a characterisation that campaigners have rejected, arguing his approach would make life harder for disabled people without delivering the savings claimed.
What is the story involving Andy Burnham and a Trump aide impersonator?
Separately, reports have emerged that Andy Burnham exchanged messages with someone impersonating Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles. It has also been reported that the prime minister held a conversation with someone posing as Wiles before growing suspicious, prompting concern to be raised over the episode.
Downing Street sources have sought to play down the significance of the exchange, though the incident caused sufficient concern at the British embassy in Washington for officials there to raise it with their US counterparts. Last year, it was reported that the FBI opened an investigation into attempts to access Wiles’s phone after an unidentified individual contacted senior Republicans and business figures while impersonating her. In March, it was separately reported that the White House had been warned Donald Trump’s personal contact details were being offered for sale to individuals seeking access or influence, with one source describing the situation as “honestly just wild”, adding: “I’ve heard of CEOs offering money for his number. I’ve heard of crypto bros offering cryptocurrency for it.”
What happens next?
The station-based housing presumption will be implemented through the revised National Planning Policy Framework following the government’s consultation process, according to an official government announcement. Existing local development plans will not be required to conform to the revised framework until its final version is formally published, meaning the practical effect on individual council areas will depend on transitional arrangements still to be worked through, according to the consultation document. The current framework itself represents the government’s response to a consultation launched in December 2024, which also introduced the “grey belt” land classification and a requirement for councils to review green belt boundaries where housing need cannot otherwise be met, according to the published National Planning Policy Framework.
Key Facts
- The revised National Planning Policy Framework creates a presumption in favour of housing near well-connected railway stations, including on green belt land, in England.
- Minimum housing densities under the proposals are 40 dwellings per hectare near stations generally and 50 per hectare near “well-connected” stations, according to the government’s consultation.
- Ministers have pledged 1.5m new homes by 2029 but are only around a quarter of the way to that target two years into the parliament.
- Reform UK has proposed £20bn in disability benefit cuts and a further £21bn from restricting benefits for foreign nationals, including EU citizens with settled status.
- Reform estimates 2.89 million people could see disability payments altered or removed under its plan to replace the current Pip system.
