On 27 November 2025, the Minister for Housing and Planning, Matthew Pennycook, announced further details regarding the new system for local plan development that will begin operating in the new year.

The reforms, introduced through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, aim to strengthen and streamline how local plans are prepared and examined across England.

Why this matters

Currently, fewer than a third of local planning authorities have up-to-date local plans. The new system supports the government’s commitment to deliver 1.5 million homes this Parliament by creating a faster, more predictable planning system.

What’s changing

As previously announced, the new system developed by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) introduces:

A 30-month local p

See Full Page