Localism Bill out today

The long-awaited Localism Bill is due to be published today, after considerable delay.

It will give some much-needed guidance to house builders and local authorities as to how the new planning system is intended to work, and will also officially abolish Home Information Packs.

A key plank of the Bill will be the New Homes Bonus, which could be extended to bringing empty homes back into use.

Housing minister Grant Shapps, in a recent speech, made it clear that local councillors will have much more power as a result of the Bill. 

Other reforms are expected to be abolition of the rule by which councillors representing people who voted them in because of their opposition to a housing scheme are then banned from council debates about it.

It is also expected that he will abolish the declaration of interests rules, by which even parish councillors have to declare the most minor of interests, often simply because they are, by their very nature, locals.

Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the House Builders Federation, said: “The Localism proposals provide a real chance for people to develop their communities for the better, and house builders will work with them to build the homes communities and families want.

“More homes will mean more money for local facilities and services, and will enable young people to live in the communities where they grew up.

“However, the Government and local councils need to join us in educating communities of the severity of the housing crisis and the benefits of new homes.”