Andy Burnham is set to give regional mayors across the UK sweeping new powers to overrule local council planning decisions and approve large-scale developments directly.
The prime minister will unveil the proposals this week, extending new planning authority to mayors across 13 areas including Manchester, Liverpool, and the West Midlands.
Under the plans, regional mayors will be able to take over planning decisions entirely, directing councils to refuse or progress specific development applications.
Mayors will also gain the ability to grant developers upfront permission to begin building without requiring them to submit a separate planning application.
The new rules will apply to developments of more than 150 homes, commercial spaces exceeding 15,000 square metres, or any building standing 30 metres or taller.
Ten of the 14 devolved mayors have backed the plans, which will grant them powers broadly similar to those held by London mayor Sadiq Khan.
Khan was given powers earlier this year to “call in” planning decisions in order to deliver more affordable homes across the capital.
All planning decisions made under the new framework must still comply with existing planning rules, local area plans, and national policies.
Mayors will also receive greater influence over how national housing funding from Homes England, the government’s housing and regeneration agency, is allocated across their regions.
They will additionally be able to charge a levy on developments to fund major infrastructure projects, with a formal consultation due to be published this week.
The announcement comes as the government finds itself just over a quarter of the way toward its target of building 1.5 million homes in England over the next five years.
Housebuilders are currently navigating the most challenging market conditions seen since the financial crisis of 2008, adding urgency to the government’s push to accelerate planning reform.
The chief executive of property portal Rightmove (RMV.L), Johan Svanstrom, said in July that new home developments are at “historically low levels due to continued softer build rates.”
The FTSE 250 property platform reported that growth in its new homes business was “subdued” owing to a six per cent dip in new-build developments compared to the previous year.
Svanstrom warned that property developers are “seeing conditions among the most difficult experienced since the global financial crisis and, as a result, new developments coming to market are at their lowest in over a decade.”