The new Labour Government is powering ahead with a radical agenda that includes a major overhaul of our cumbersome and outdated planning system. The new Planning Reform Bill, announced in the King’s Speech in July, aims to accelerate the development of critical infrastructure as well as the construction of 1.5 million homes. This bill, one of 40 legislative proposals, seeks to streamline the planning system, ensuring a faster and more efficient approval process for major projects.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said, “We are hitting the ground running by bringing forward the laws we will need to rebuild our country”, a sentiment that we at the UK Warehousing Association heartily endorse, and we are keen to ensure this benefits the warehousing sector. Warehouses represent critical infrastructure. They are essential hubs within supply chains for food, clothing and just about every product that gets delivered to homes, businesses and public services every day. However, as is often the case, the devil is in the planning detail.
Location is key. Every new residential building is a new delivery point, so the proposal for 1.5 million new homes clearly requires a commensurate increase in strategically located warehousing space. On the other hand, the recent study by the Airport Operators Association (AOA) that almost 6,000 new homes have been approved around airports in the past three years, despite a government policy to reduce the number of people exposed to aviation noise, is cause for concern. It is essential that the Government takes a nuanced approach and that UKWA, along with peer trade associations in the sector, deliver the message that more warehouses are needed close to new residential developments but that the operational requirements of existing warehouses, such as those around airports, must also be factored into planning policy.
This includes stricter land use controls within airport noise contours, as per the ICAO Balanced Approach enshrined in UK law. The development of 1,900 homes and other buildings, including a school, within the 57db contour of Gatwick and further proposals to build 4,500 homes next to East Midlands Airport would seem to go against this principle. What’s more, it is in the Government’s interest to consider the sector’s decarbonisation needs in its planning review. UKWA’s report on solar power on warehouse rooftops showed that warehouses account for a third of UK commercial roof space, yet only about five percent of warehouses have solar panels on their rooftops. If the warehousing sector were supported in embracing this opportunity, there is enough space for at least 15GW, which would double the solar capacity of the whole of the UK, reduce sector emissions by a significant 2 million tonnes of CO2 per year, and deliver massive annual savings of up to £3 billion on electricity costs.
To put this in context, the new Labour Government has set a target to triple solar power by 2030, and our sector alone could double it. New ground-mounted solar farms have already been granted planning permission formerly denied by the Conservative Government, and alongside this, the new Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP, has spoken about his plans to unleash a “rooftop revolution”.
There will be pressure on housebuilders to fit solar panels on new homes, but the payback for larger rooftops such as warehouses is usually significantly better because of the economies of scale. Just 20 percent of the largest warehouses would represent 75 million Sq m of useable roof space – equivalent to the footprint of 500,000 houses. UKWA’s 2024 Report into the size and makeup of the UK warehousing sector shows that over the last decade, warehousing has experienced sustained growth, generated jobs and made a significant contribution to the national economy. It is vital that the Government’s zeal for rebuilding our country, therefore, recognises the potential of our sector to boost growth and productivity and prioritises our requirements accordingly.
There is certainly cause for optimism. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has already opened a consultation seeking views on revising the National Planning Policy Framework. UKWA will be seizing this window of opportunity to ensure the views of the industry are heard.
