Title

PLANNING

Councils should benefit from land value uplift - MPs

Increases in land value that result from public policy decisions should be shared with councils instead of ending up in the pockets of private developers, MPs have said.

Increases in land value that result from public policy decisions should be shared with councils instead of ending up in the pockets of private developers, MPs have said.

Government statistics show that agricultural land that is granted planning permission for residential use increases in value on average from £21,000 per hectare to £1.95m per hectare.

A report from the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee concluded that councils and Government should be able to capture a ‘significant proportion' of that uplift to invest in new infrastructure and public services.

Committee chair Clive Betts said: ‘As these increases are significantly created by the actions of the state, it is right that a significant proportion of this should be shared with the local community.'

PLANNING

Closing the confidence gap

By Emmet Regan | 23 April 2026

Emmet Regan looks at why government has lost the confidence to ‘do big things’ and says rebuilding it is a collective endeavour that spans public servants, p...

PLANNING

Why CfGS is needed now more than ever

By Ed Hammond | 23 April 2026

As Ed Hammond departs for pastures new, the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny’s deputy chief executive reflects on 17 years at the centre – and how governan...

PLANNING

Southport: Knee-jerk legislation may overwhelm the system

By Heather Jameson | 23 April 2026

The lessons of Southport need to be learned, says Heather Jameson. 'But there is no lack of legislation – the systems need to work better.....

PLANNING

Restoring the third pillar of local authority finance: citizen investment

By Karl Harder | 23 April 2026

Karl Harder looks at the benefits of citizen investing.

Popular articles by William Eichler