Midlands growth hotspots get £1m planning boost
A total of eleven Midlands local authorities claimed £92,300 each from the Development Management Fund to help them power through housing applications.
The fund is part of wider efforts by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to speed up the planning system, with local authorities able to use the cash to hire additional planning officers to tackle backlogs, bring in specialists and invest in digital systems to speed up applications.
Local authorities had to prove they had both high economic growth potential and a high number of major residential applications to be eligible for extra support.
Ultimately 63 local authorities claimed a portion of the £9m pot, with Greater London Authority netting £3m to distribute to its boroughs. With the exception of GLA and Horsham, which secured £447,600, the councils were awarded £92,300.
The successful Midlands-based applicants were:
- Birmingham City Council
- Nottingham
- Nuneaton and Bedworth
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Telford and Wrekin
- Wychavon
- Solihull
- Rushcliffe
- North Lincolnshire
- North West Leicestershire
- Stratford-on-Avon
Councils had to file an expression of interest in the fund prior to 28 January to be considered for an award. The cash is due to be given out at the end of this month.
Government has paid special attention to the planning system as it seeks to meet its goal to enable the delivery of 1.5m homes during this Parliament. Housing minister Matthew Pennycook announced updates to the local plan process and a recruitment drive for planning inspectors last year, with chancellor Rachel Reeves committing £48m to recruit 350 planning officers during her Autumn Budget.
You can see the full list of successful Development Management Fund winners below:
- Amber Valley
- Arun
- Barnsley
- Bedford
- Birmingham
- Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole
- City of Bristol
- Buckinghamshire
- Cambridge
- Calderdale
- Canterbury
- Central Bedfordshire
- Charnwood
- Chichester
- Cornwall
- County Durham
- Cumberland
- Dacorum
- Doncaster
- Dorset
- East Cambridgeshire
- East Lindsey
- Fenland
- Greater London Authority
- Guildford
- Horsham
- Huntingdonshire
- Kirklees
- Leeds
- Liverpool
- Manchester
- Medway
- Milton Keynes
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- North Kesteven
- North Lincolnshire
- North West Leicestershire
- North Yorkshire
- North Tyneside
- Northumberland
- Nottingham
- Nuneaton and Bedworth
- Reading
- Redcar and Cleveland
- Rochdale
- Rushcliffe
- Salford
- Sheffield
- Solihull
- Somerset
- South Cambridgeshire
- South Norfolk
- South Oxfordshire
- St Albans
- Stockport
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Telford and Wrekin
- Trafford
- Warrington
- Welwyn Hatfield
- Wiltshire
- Wychavon
