Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023

The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023^[1] (c. 55) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023

Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to make provision for the setting of levelling-up missions and reporting on progress in delivering them; about local democracy; about town and country planning; about Community Infrastructure Levy; about the imposition of Infrastructure Levy; about environmental outcome reports for certain consents and plans; about nutrient pollution standards; about regeneration; about the compulsory purchase of land; about information and records relating to land, the environment or heritage; about the registration of short-term rental properties; for the provision for pavement licences to be permanent; about governance of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors; about the charging of fees in connection with marine licences; for a body to replace the Health and Safety Executive as the building safety regulator; about the transfer of land for Academy schools; about the review of maps of open country and registered common land; about the regulation of childminding; about qualifying leases under the Building Safety Act 2022; about road user charging schemes in London; about National Parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty and the Broads; and for connected purposes.
Citation	2023 c. 55
Introduced by	Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Commons) The Baroness Scott of Bybrook, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Faith and Communities (Lords)
Dates
Royal assent	26 October 2023
Commencement	On royal assent and by regulations
Status: Current legislation
History of passage through Parliament
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The act is said to "speed up the planning system, hold developers to account, cut bureaucracy, and encourage more councils to put in place plans to enable the building of new homes" by the government.^[2] This is said by the government to transform town centres by "giving councils the powers to work directly with landlords to bring empty buildings back into use by local businesses and community groups, breathing life back into empty high streets".^[2]

The act was opposed to by a large amount of local government who said it would undermine regional and local leaders.^[3] The act also relaxed the blanket ban to onshore wind farms.^[4] The act introduced a requirement of planning permission for short term lets.^[5] The latter was to reduce the "scourge" of second homes.^[6]

The act (amongst other things):

• introduced levelling-up missions.
• created a new form of devolved local government called a 'county combined authority'.
• created new powers for combined authorities.
• allowed for the modification of titles of mayors of new and existing combined authorities.
• introduced a new Infrastructure Levy, and altered the existing Community Infrastructure Levy.
• made the biggest changes to the planning system in a significant time.

Certain parts of the act came into force on royal assent. A large proportion of the act came into force on 26 December 2023, being two months after the act was passed.^[7] Regulations have been made by the Secretary of State bringing into force the rest of the provisions which were staggered over the following years.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Parliamentary passage

The act was first introduced to the House of Commons on 11 May 2022 and received its third reading in the House of Lords on 21 September 2023.^[12] It was part of the government's levelling-up policy, and had a long history preceding it. The Bill was criticised for covering a significant number of different policy areas, and was labelled a "mish-mash" of various policy areas and a "Christmas tree Bill" by Baroness Hayman of Ullock.^[13] The size and policy areas covered by the Act were castigated by many politicians. It was piloted through the Commons by Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and through the Lords by Baroness Scott of Bybrook, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Faith and Communities.

During the bill's passage through the Lords, further policy areas were introduced, such as provisions concerning the Ultra Low Emission Zone in London, and also childminding. One provision which the Lords vociferously rejected was a reduction in nutrient neutrality requirements: an environmental regulation inherited from the EU which requires local planning authorities to consider the impact of new homes on the local environment and waterways (mainly an increase in sewage). The government said that the change would allow over 100,000 additional homes to be built.^[14][15]

The act received royal assent on 26 October 2023.