Andy Burnham will give mayors new powers to take control of local planning decisions and greenlight large-scale developments in proposals to be presented next week.
The move will allow mayors to “call in” the decisions and direct councils to take them forward or refuse them. They will also be able to grant upfront permission so developers can start building without having to apply.
The move is intended to stop “nimby” councils blocking major developments that could boost local growth or help the government move towards its target of building 1.5m homes by the end of the parliament.
But Burnham said it could also result in mayors blocking projects that councils wanted to push forward. “Sometimes … challenge does need to be made to local decision-making, and actually it cuts both ways,” he told the Sunday Times.
“It’s not all about nimbyism. Sometimes it’s the other way round. It’s a local authority putting forward something that’s unacceptable in terms of the impact on the community … so it’s a two-way street.”
The measures will apply to developments of more than 150 homes, commercial spaces of more than 15,000 sq m or any building 30 metres or taller – which is roughly 10 storeys.
Burnham told the paper he understood the argument that devolving powers to mayors to push through such projects could disempower councillors, MPs and constituents. “The question is: do you want somebody who’s elected by the people of that area to consider a decision, or a far less accountable decision-making process?” he said.
Ten of the 14 devolved mayors from different parties have backed the move. It will bring them into line with the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who was given the powers earlier this year, in what was billed as an emergency measure aimed at unblocking dozens of stalled sites to get thousands more affordable homes built in the capital.
Burnham said: “In my view, it will prompt a much more joined-up discussion about planning and local authorities. I think knowing the mayor has that role, councils will come to the mayor and say: ‘How can we work this thing out so that it is acceptable?’”
The government is just over a quarter of the way to its housing target, which Angela Rayner, the housing secretary, recently insisted remained in place. The decisions must be in line with planning rules, local plans set out for areas and the national policy, and ministers will retain a backstop power to intervene.
Mayors will also get more of a say on how national housing funding from Homes England will be spent in their areas, in addition to being able to charge a levy on development to fund large infrastructure.
A consultation will be published next week.
The Liberal Democrats said the move was a “direct attack” that would silence residents. Gideon Amos, the party’s housing and planning spokesperson, said: “Taking powers away from communities and local councillors is taking powers away from local people. This plan is a direct attack on communities across the country. Labour’s chaotic patchwork approach to devolution will simply not work to solve the housing crisis.
“Instead of silencing residents and handing mayors a blank cheque, the government should be empowering local councils with the resources to deliver genuinely affordable homes alongside the infrastructure to support them.”
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Burnham faces a difficult autumn after a summer-long honeymoon period, during which a series of announcements by the prime minister has helped his party jump ahead of Reform in the polls for the first time in a year.
Later this year his chancellor, John Healey, will give his first budget in which he is likely to be constrained by high borrowing figures and the ongoing impact of the war in Iran.
Burnham will also have to make decisions about Shabana Mahmood’s flagship changes to immigration, including whether people who are already in the country should have to wait longer to achieve settled status.
The Guardian revealed recently the prime minister was considering exempting care workers from the changes, though that would mean potentially carving out hundreds of thousands of people.
“It’s important to see that issue within a bigger picture,” Burnham told the Sunday Times. “Migration is down, boat crossings are down, removals are up. I think what we’ve got to do in the autumn is present that full picture, and those decisions around ILR [indefinite leave to remain] will be part of that whole picture.”
Asked by the paper whether he had made a decision on the overall package, he said: “Not yet, no.”
