• Councils to be able to buy cheaper land to deliver more homes and drive economic growth.
• Removal of ‘hope value’ to help councils meet housing targets
• Supporting the government’s Plan for Change to deliver 1.5 million homes and overhaul the planning system.

Thousands of more homes across the country will be delivered quicker and more easily thanks to new planning changes announced today, driving new investment for town centres and economic growth for local communities.

Under proposals set out by the Government today, local councils across the country will be empowered to buy cheaper land through the use of Compulsory Purchase Orders and build much needed homes and infrastructure as part of the government’s Plan for Change milestone to build 1.5 million new homes while driving growth across the country. 

The proposed changes mean councils, Mayoral Combined Authorities and other public bodies, including Homes England, will be able to directly take control of vacant and derelict land from landowners paying a fair price and not inflated ‘hope value’ costs, where they are delivering in the public interest. ‘Hope value’ estimates the cost land could be worth if developed on in the future, meaning many councils are often forced to pay thousands of pounds more to buy land for development or get caught in lengthy disputes over costs. 

The reforms expand existing legislation allowing ‘hope value’ to be removed in more circumstances where social and affordable housing is being built, accelerating housebuilding, helping more families on to the property ladder and to get more of the social and affordable homes communities need built, as well as making a positive use of unsightly, vacant land.

Matthew Pennycook, the Housing and Planning Minister, said:

“In our manifesto, we committed ourselves to further compulsory purchase reform to deliver more housing, infrastructure, amenity, and transport benefits in the public interest.

“The consultation we are launching today is the next step in fulfilling that commitment – proposing reforms that will make the process faster and more efficient, enabling more land value to be captured and then invested in schemes for public benefit.”

Proposed changes to CPOs are now being consulted on and include proposals that aim to speed-up decision making, reduce the cost of the process and ensure the compensation paid to landowners is fair. 

The eight-week consultation will consider views from builders, councils, and the wider sector before the findings are analysed and used to inform the forthcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill, to be introduced next year. 

This consultation follows the government’s announcement last week to overhaul the planning system and make landmark changes to the National Planning Policy Framework. As well as new mandatory housing targets for councils, areas will receive an additional £100 million next year to hire more staff and consultants as well as fund more resources to carry out technical studies and site assessments.  

As part of its relentless focus to get Britain building again, the government has already:     

• Announced an overhaul of the planning system through reforms to the NPPF     
• Launched a New Homes Accelerator to unlock thousands of homes currently in the planning system     
• Set out proposals for ‘brownfield passports’ to ensure where planning proposals meet design and quality standards, the default answer to planning permission is yes     
• Set up an independent New Towns Taskforce, as part of a long-term vision to create large-scale communities of at least 10,000 new homes each       
• Awarded £68 million to 54 local councils to unlock housing on brownfield sites        
• Awarded £47 million to seven councils to unlock homes stalled by nutrient neutrality rules   
• Provided vital £700m support to SME housebuilders in 2025-26 by extending the Home Building Fund, that was due to close on 31 March 2025. The Fund is on track to deliver 42,000 homes – extending this will deliver 12,000 additional homes and support even more SME housebuilders.  

Note to editors: 

 The Consultation on Compulsory Purchase Process and Compensation Reforms will be open for eight weeks and will close in February 2025. It is available here.