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Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023

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Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023[a]
Act of Parliament
coat of arms
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long titleAn Act to make provision for the setting of levelling-up missions and reporting on progress in delivering them; about local democracy; about town and country planning; about Community Infrastructure Levy; about the imposition of Infrastructure Levy; about environmental outcome reports for certain consents and plans; about nutrient pollution standards; about regeneration; about the compulsory purchase of land; about information and records relating to land, the environment or heritage; about the registration of short-term rental properties; for the provision for pavement licences to be permanent; about governance of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors; about the charging of fees in connection with marine licences; for a body to replace the Health and Safety Executive as the building safety regulator; about the transfer of land for Academy schools; about the review of maps of open country and registered common land; about the regulation of childminding; about qualifying leases under the Building Safety Act 2022; about road user charging schemes in London; about National Parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty and the Broads; and for connected purposes.
Citation2023 c. 55
Introduced byMichael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Commons)
The Baroness Scott of Bybrook, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Faith and Communities (Lords)
Territorial extent United Kingdom[b]
Dates
Royal assent26 October 2023
CommencementOn royal assent and by regulations[c]
Other legislation
Amends
Amended by
Status: Amended
History of passage through Parliament
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023[1] (c. 55) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The act is said to "speed up the planning system, hold developers to account, cut bureaucracy, and encourage more councils to put in place plans to enable the building of new homes" by the government.[2] The government said this would "transform town centres by giving councils the powers to work directly with landlords to bring empty buildings back into use by local businesses and community groups, breathing life back into empty high streets".[2]

Aspects of the act were opposed by many members of local government, who said it would undermine regional and local leaders.[3] The act also relaxed the blanket ban on onshore wind farms[4] which had been introduced in 2015.[5] The act introduced a requirement of planning permission for short-term lets,[6] to reduce the "scourge" of second homes.[7]

The act (amongst other things):

Certain parts of the act came into force on royal assent. A large proportion of the act came into force on 26 December 2023, being two months after the act was passed.[8] Regulations were made by the Secretary of State to bring into force the rest of the provisions in stages during the following years.[9][10][11][12]

The Starmer ministry did not implement the Infrastructure Levy, instead keeping the current Community Infrastructure Levy.[13]

Parliamentary passage

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The act was first introduced to the House of Commons on 11 May 2022 and received its third reading in the House of Lords on 21 September 2023.[14] It was part of the government's levelling-up policy, and had a long history preceding it. The Bill was criticised for covering a significant number of different policy areas, and was labelled a "mish-mash" of various policy areas and a "Christmas tree Bill" by Baroness Hayman of Ullock.[15] The size and policy areas covered by the Act were castigated by many politicians. It was piloted through the Commons by Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and through the Lords by Baroness Scott of Bybrook, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Faith and Communities.

During the bill's passage through the Lords, further policy areas were introduced, such as provisions concerning the Ultra Low Emission Zone in London, and also childminding. One provision which the Lords vociferously rejected was a reduction in nutrient neutrality requirements: an environmental regulation inherited from the EU which requires local planning authorities to consider the impact of new homes on the local environment and waterways (mainly an increase in sewage). The government said that the change would allow over 100,000 additional homes to be built.[16][17]

The act received royal assent on 26 October 2023.

Notes

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  1. ↑ Section 256.
  2. ↑ Section 254.
  3. ↑ Section 255.

References

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  1. ↑ "Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023". legislation.gov.uk.
  2. 1 2 "New laws to speed up planning, build homes and level up". GOV.UK. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  3. ↑ "Local democracy threatened by levelling up bill's key measures, warns CPRE". CPRE. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  4. ↑ Martin, Daniel; Hope, Christopher (17 February 2023). "Rishi Sunak caves in to Tory planning reform rebels". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  5. ↑ Millard, Rachel (13 December 2021). "Wind turbine expansion thrown into doubt". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  6. ↑ "New holiday let rules to protect local people and support tourism". GOV.UK. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  7. ↑ "Michael Gove vows to end 'scourge' of empty second homes". BBC News. 8 June 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  8. ↑ "Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, s. 255". legislation.gov.uk.
  9. ↑ "The Elections Act 2022 (Commencement No. 11, Transitional Provisions and Specified Day) and Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 (Commencement No. 1) Regulations 2023". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  10. ↑ "The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2024". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  11. ↑ "The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 (Commencement No. 3 and Transitional and Savings Provision) Regulations 2024". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  12. ↑ "The Planning Act 2008 (Commencement No. 8) and Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 (Commencement No. 4 and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2024". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  13. ↑ Watts, David (2024). "Reviewing the National Planning Policy Framework". Challenge. Green Liberal Democrats.
  14. ↑ "Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 – Government Bill". UK Parliament. 13 November 2023.
  15. ↑ "House of Lords Propose More Than 500 Changes To Government's Levelling Up Bill". Politics Home. 22 February 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  16. ↑ "100,000 more homes to be built via reform of defective EU laws". GOV.UK. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  17. ↑ "Government loses bid to relax waterway pollution as Lords rebel". Sky News. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
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