4.23 Housing supply and infrastructure development are intrinsically linked. Expansion of communities requires new connections to utility and communications networks, can place extra demands on strategic and local transport services and has implications for environmental conditions. Local authorities need confidence that new housing will be supported by infrastructure and infrastructure providers need confidence in the certainty of new housing delivery before making investment decisions.
4.24 To deliver greater certainty, the new draft National Planning Policy Framework sets out a presumption in favour of sustainable development, stronger incentives to ensure that local plans are kept up to date and based on clear evidence and an expectation that local authorities should build additional land supply into local plans to ensure the market has more choice about where to develop housing. These proposed reforms would complement and build upon the balance between certainty and flexibility within the English plan-led system to help infrastructure providers plan for the future and give more confidence to investors. Local authorities will need to work together across boundaries to properly plan for infrastructure provision.
4.25 The Government is also strengthening the tools for local communities to support growth. It is putting in place stronger incentives to promote growth through the New Homes Bonus and proposals to allow the retention of business rate receipts. This will also create new funding streams that can support infrastructure provision and will complement the £500 million Growing Places Fund and Community Infrastructure Levy.
4.26 In addition, the Government's Housing Strategy announced on 21 November set out a plan to support local areas that want to deliver larger scale new development to meet the needs of their growing communities. The Government will run a competition to promote the development of a wave of larger-scale projects, including on brownfield sites, where there is clear local support and private sector appetite. Government departments will work together to ensure that new infrastructure provision is well coordinated to support successful proposals. There will also be help for promoters and local authorities to broker the support of infrastructure providers and statutory consultees to ensure that projects can be delivered.
4.27 Infrastructure also has an important role in supporting the Government's agenda for cities. The Minister for Cities is tasked with agreeing bespoke 'city deals' to empower civic and private sector leaders and boost economic growth. The focus is on working with partners across an appropriate functional economic area, broadly defined by Local Enterprise Partnerships.