The government has introduced new rules for housing developers which aim to make it quicker and easier to begin building properties.
The changes specify that the way developers generate money for infrastructure, such as roads and green areas, is more transparent, enabling residents to see “every step taken” to make an area ready for building on.
Housing Minister Kit Malthouse MP says that the previous rules are confusing and “unnecessarily over-complicated”.
Councils will now be required to detail how they intend to partner with developers in creating new housing.
Developers were charged £6bn in contributions between 2016 and 2017. However, councils previously did not have to report on the total funding it had received or how it was spent, according to the government.
Further changes include restrictions being eased in order to allow councils to fund single, larger infrastructure projects.
Malthouse continues: “Communities deserve to know whether their council is fighting their corner with developers – getting more cash to local services so they can cope with the new homes built.
“The reforms not only ensure developers and councils do not shirk their responsibilities, allowing residents to hold them to account – but also free up councillors to fund bigger and more complicated projects over the line.
“The certainty and less needless complexity will lead to quicker decisions, – just another way we are succeeding in meeting our ambition of building 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s
