The current system for capturing developer contributions is failing local communities, leaving vital public amenities like schools and GP surgeries underfunded, MPs say.
The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee has warned that current systems — including Section?106 agreements and the Community Infrastructure Levy — are failing to deliver the investment local areas need.
The committee also criticised the Government’s delay in publishing its Long-Term Housing Strategy, which it said had ‘left industry in the dark’, and questioned where the funding for the New Towns programme would come from.
It also expressed ‘serious concern’ about the prospect of reducing London’s affordable housing target and called for evidence to show how this change would deliver more affordable housing units.
The committee is calling on the Chancellor to introduce new funding in the next Budget, enabling councils to establish development corporations, acquire land, and kickstart the first New Towns by spring 2026.
Committee chair Florence Eshalomi MP said: ‘Fixing the housing crisis and meeting the 1.5m new homes target requires the Government to pull all the levers at its disposal.
‘The Government should immediately pursue reforms to land value capture to ensure developers make fair contributions towards the infrastructure and affordable housing which communities rightly expect.’
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