Reports Planning Bill may be scrapped

There are reports that the Housing and levelling-up secretary Michael Gove, has told attendees in a private meeting that the government will not proceed with the Planning Bill that was proposed in the May 2021 Queen's speech.

The Bill was expected in Autumn 2021, but after Robert Jenrick was replaced as Secretary of State by Michael Gove in September, the bill was postponed.

Changes that were meant to be set out in the Planning Bill are expected to be incorporated into the levelling-up and regeneration Bill, which was proposed in the government's Levelling-up White Paper.

There have been numerous concerns expressed by Conservative MPs over the proposals to be set out in the Planning Bill, in particular over how homes would be distributed.

When asked about the possibility that the Bill was being abandoned and reforms moved into the levelling-up and regeneration Bill, a spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), said: "We continue to keep the planning system under review to ensure it is best equipped to level up the country. Any changes will be announced in due course."