Labour housing minister Matthew Pennycook has said the Government’s new planning framework will help tackle Britain’s housing crisis by making it easier to build the homes the country needs, including around well-connected railway stations.
The Greenwich and Woolwich MP said decades of failing to build enough homes had left a generation struggling to buy, more than 1.3 million households on social housing waiting lists and nearly 180,000 homeless children living in temporary accommodation.
Writing on X, Pennycook said tackling the housing crisis was a “national imperative” and a priority for Prime Minister Andy Burnham and the Labour Government.
“As a result of a failure over many decades to build enough homes of all tenures, we have a generation locked out of homeownership, over 1.3 million households languishing on social housing waiting lists and nearly 180,000 children homeless living in temporary accommodation,” he said.
“Tackling the housing crisis is a national imperative and a priority for Andy Burnham and this Labour government.”
Pennycook said reform of the planning system had been at the heart of Labour’s approach to improving the availability, affordability and quality of housing.
The process began with changes to national planning policy in December 2024, including a new method for calculating local housing need and reforms intended to release more land for development through a strategic approach to the green belt.
Further reforms followed with the Planning and Infrastructure Act, which received Royal Assent in December 2025 and was designed to speed up the delivery of new homes and major infrastructure.
The Government has now published a new National Planning Policy Framework, which Pennycook described as the culmination of two years of work to reshape the planning system around meeting housing need and supporting economic growth.
One of the most significant changes is a new approach to development around railway stations.
Under the framework, suitable proposals for homes around well-connected stations will receive a default “yes” in principle, with the Government arguing that higher-density housing should be concentrated in areas where residents can easily access public transport, jobs and services.
Pennycook said the policy would “maximise opportunities for sustainable development, make the most of high levels of connectivity, and improve access to jobs and services”.
The changes form part of a broader Labour push to increase housing supply while reshaping the planning system to support development in areas where demand for homes is greatest.
Pennycook said the Government’s objective extended beyond simply increasing the number of homes built, arguing that housing and infrastructure investment should contribute to economic growth and greater opportunity across the country.
“We are building a fairer country, delivering good growth in every postcode and bringing back hope,” he said.
The intervention follows Housing Secretary Angela Rayner’s backing for the new approach, saying that unlocking homes around well-connected transport hubs would help people live closer to work, schools and the services they rely on.
