The UK government has introduced changes to its national planning policy that will give 'default yes' approval for homes built around railway stations. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.

Under the new National Planning Policy Framework, thousands more homes could be built within 10 minutes of transport hubs, including on green belt sites, as part of changes to government planning rules in England. There will be default approval for homes being built around railway stations in a bid to increase housebuilding numbers, and new minimum expectations for how much housing should be built in these areas.

Ministers have pledged to build 1.5m new homes by 2029 – but this target will fall short on the current trajectory, with the government about a quarter of the way to its target, two years into a five-year parliament. It has not been disclosed which areas will be targeted in the new housebuilding drive, but the i reports that one key criteria is that nearby rail stations can run a minimum of four trains per hour into a large urban area.

Ministers hope the new policy will help the government achieve its target of 1.5m new properties being built by the end of this parliament. However, the plans risk a backlash from campaigners who want to see greenbelt areas protected.

Asked whether the 'default yes' approach to planning approval would apply to greenbelt land, the housing minister, Matthew Pennycook, confirmed to Sky News this morning: 'For well-connected stations outside of settlements, including the greenbelt, that default policy applies.'

Asked about concerns this may raise, he said: 'It may cause some concern, but as I've said many, many times, we know there is not enough land on brownfield land registers across the country, so previously developed land, to deliver the volumes of homes our country needs each year, at least those that are viable and in the right location. So, in exceptional circumstances, greenbelt land should be developed on. We've got a sequential approach for how we judge the lower quality land to come forward in the first instance.'

Reform UK's deputy leader Richard Tice said the changes, which come into effect from today, undermine the government's devolution agenda: 'Far from empowering local councils who actually know their communities, they strip power from the people who live there and hand it to Whitehall so ministers can ram through major housing developments while sidelining residents and ignoring the infrastructure that already can't cope.'

James Cleverly, the shadow housing secretary, said: 'To try to fix their own mess, Labour are planning a power grab, seizing control from local communities and forcing them to accept development in the wrong areas because Labour won't build in the right areas. Labour's planning power grab is exposing our green belt and countryside to unauthorised Traveller sites, and ministers are turning a blind eye.'