The new Neighbourhood Planning Bill will help "speed up delivery" of new homes, according to Housing Minister Gavin Barwell.

The Bill was introduced in Parliament today, 07 September and aims to support further house building as well as providing more local say over developments.

Minister Barwell said: "The Prime Minister has been absolutely clear that we need to build more homes and this Bill is the first of a number of measures to deliver on that.

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"We have already built more than 900,000 homes since 2010 and now this Bill will help speed up delivery of the further new homes our country needs and ensure our foot is still firmly on the pedal.

"We're also going further than ever before to speed up neighbourhood planning which puts power in the hands of local people to decide where development gets built."

The Bill aims to speed up and strengthen the neighbourhood planning process by simplifying how plans can be revised as local circumstances change and ensuring that plans come into force sooner once approved by local people.

As well as simplifying the compulsory purchase order process, further measures will ensure planning conditions which require developers to take action before work starts are only used where strictly necessary.

(LM/CD)