The coalition government plans to introduce bills to cut quangos and devolve powers to local councils under the Conservative Party’s “localism” agenda in the next parliamentary year.

This morning, the Queen set out the coalition’s plans for 22 bills at the state opening of parliament. The government plans to introduce a Decentralisation and Localism Bill to devolve more powers to councils and local communities in areas such as planning and housing.

It is also set to introduce a Public Bodies Bill, to give the government more powers to cut government quangos as it seeks “efficiency savings” to cut the £156bn budget deficit.

Chancellor George Osborne and David Laws, chief secretary to the Treasury, set out plans for £6.2bn of spending cuts this financial year.

Andrew Pratt, managing director of residential at Grainger said of the localism plans: “Localism has always been one of the centrepieces of the Tory election campaign. Giving councils and local governments greater control over housing and planning decisions has raised concerns that it could exacerbate nimbyism at a time when we need to take bold steps to tackle the UK’s significant housing shortage.”

Kate Henderson, interim chief executive at the Town and Country Planning Association said: “One of the key challenges to the planning system is around public legitimacy and therefore a move towards re-engaging people with the future of their communities is a positive step forwards.”

Paul King, chief executive of the UK Green Building Council warned that the proposed abolition of regional spatial strategies could cause problems.

“The coalition must be careful that the proposed abolition of regional spatial Sstrategies does not result in missed opportunities to deliver sustainable infrastructure, such as heat, water and waste across local authority borders. Integrated policy to deliver these services can offer carbon and cost savings – which can be missed if we don’t have a regional overview.”

The government also plans the following bills that are due to have an impact on property and development:

• Local Government (Revocation of Structural Change) Bill, to stop the planned creation of new single-tier councils in Exeter and Norwich.
• Scotland Bill, which would give the Scottish government more powers to raise taxes.
• High speed railway network bill to enable the network’s construction. A route between London and Birmingham has been announced, and there are plans to expand the network to the north of England.
• Energy Bill, to encourage homeowners and other property owners to make their properties more energy efficient.

David Symons, director at consultant WSP Environment & Energy said of the Energy Bill:

“The main focus of the Energy Bill appears to be on implementing a ‘pay as you save’ approach to home and business energy consumption.

“However, the Government will still need to persuade households that the energy efficiency benefits outweigh the hassle and disruption of home upgrades.”

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