The Conservatives have pledged a sweeping deregulation programme which they claim could cut the cost of a new-build home by as much as £50,000.
Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith unveiled plans at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham for what the party is describing as the “most ambitious deregulation project in a generation”.
The package includes scrapping the Future Homes Standard and associated net-zero requirements for new homes, abolishing the Environment Agency and Natural England as separate arm’s-length bodies, replacing Section 106 agreements and the Community Infrastructure Levy with a single charge, removing packaging rules and backing a third runway at Heathrow.
The £50,000 figure is a Conservative Party estimate and should not be interpreted as a guaranteed reduction in the sale price of every new home.
Tories target £50,000 from cost of new homes
The Conservatives say regulations and planning requirements are increasing the cost of building homes and making it more difficult for younger people to get on the housing ladder.
Under the proposals, a future Conservative government would ditch the Future Homes Standard and housebuilding rules due to require new homes to incorporate measures including low-carbon heating technology.
The party argues that removing those requirements, together with wider changes to developer contributions and property taxation, could reduce the cost associated with a new-build property by as much as £50,000.
The figure is based on Conservative Party calculations rather than an independent guarantee of how much house prices would fall. The eventual effect would depend on factors including construction costs, land values, developer pricing and the housing market.
Environment Agency and Natural England would be abolished
The deregulation programme would also abolish the Environment Agency and Natural England as separate arm’s-length organisations, with necessary functions brought into the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Shadow Environment Secretary Victoria Atkins said the move would deliver what she described as “common sense for our countryside and the cost”.
The proposal would therefore represent a substantial restructuring of environmental regulation rather than the removal of every function currently carried out by the two organisations.
Planning contributions to be replaced
The Conservatives would replace Section 106 agreements and the Community Infrastructure Levy with a single charge. Those mechanisms currently allow councils to secure financial contributions and infrastructure connected with new development, including contributions towards affordable housing and local services.
Griffith argues that simplifying the system would reduce delays and costs. He rejected suggestions that the wider programme would create a planning “free for all”, saying the proposals were aimed at regulatory complexity rather than removing all restrictions on development.
Packaging levy also targeted
The Conservatives are also proposing to scrap Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging, a scheme which shifts the cost of managing household packaging waste towards producers.
The party claims removing it could lift a £1.5 billion burden from businesses. That figure is also a Conservative Party estimate.
Conservatives back Heathrow third runway
The programme includes explicit Conservative support for construction of a third runway at Heathrow Airport.
Griffith said the party was “all in” for growth and would legislate to remove obstacles to major infrastructure projects.
Griffith promises tax simplification
Alongside the regulatory changes, Griffith said a future Conservative Treasury would make simplifying Britain's tax system a priority.
He described the existing tax code as a “cat’s cradle of complexity” and said he wanted to become a tax-cutting Chancellor when the public finances allowed it.
However, Griffith acknowledged that a future Conservative government would not necessarily be able to implement every desired tax reduction immediately.
Opponents attack plans
The proposals have drawn criticism from Labour and opposition parties. Labour chair Bridget Phillipson attacked the Conservatives' economic record in government, while Liberal Democrat Treasury spokeswoman Daisy Cooper questioned the credibility of the party's economic pledges.
Reform UK Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick accused the Conservatives of copying policies already advocated by his party.
The proposals are Conservative Party policy commitments made while the party is in opposition. They are not changes to current law and would require the Conservatives to return to government and implement them.