Planning reforms on hold as Gove focuses on 'beauty and neighbourhoods'

Peter Stonham

29 November 2022

Michael Gove: We have some propositions to make sure that with the adoption of local plans, it will become more difficult for developers to wriggle out of their responsibilities

The Government has been forced to postpone legislating for already long-delayed planning reforms after dozens of Tory MPs threatened to rebel.

MPs were set to vote last week on mandatory, centrally-set targets to build 300,000 homes a year.

But a total of 50 Conservative MPs - including eight former cabinet ministers - signed an amendment to the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill which would have abolished the targets.

The Government said the vote had been pulled due to a packed parliamentary...