Housing reforms: Rishi Sunak promises that new housing plans will focus on cities ahead of Gove announcement

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has vowed that new housing plans due to be announced by Housing Secretary Michael Gove will not "concrete over the countryside".

The new housing commitment is due to be announced by Sunak and Gove on Monday (24 Juy), however the PM has already revealed that more houses will be built in cities. He also said that the government is on track to meet its target to build one million homes by 2024.

Due on a visit to the West Midlands, Sunak said: “Today I can confirm that we will meet our manifesto commitment to build one million homes over this Parliament. That’s a beautiful new home for a million individual families in every corner of our country.

“We need to keep going because we want more people to realise the dream of owning their own home. We won’t do that by concreting over the countryside – our plan is to build the right homes where there is the most need and where there is local support, in the heart of Britain’s great cities.

He added: “Our reforms today will help make that a reality by regenerating disused brownfield land, streamlining the planning process and helping homeowners to renovate and extend their houses outwards and upwards.”

The new plans are set to include the construction of an urban quarter in Cambridge which will include space for new homes It will also include space for other facilities such as art spaces, laboratories and green areas.

Gove is expected to unveil the full plan in a speech in London. The new investment will see £24million committed to a planning skills delivery fund which aims to clear house-building backlogs.

In a statement ahead of his speech, the Housing Secretary said: “Most people agree that we need to build more homes — the question is how we go about it. Rather than concreting over the countryside, we have set out a plan today to build the right homes in the right places where there is community support — and we’re putting the resources behind it to help make this vision a reality.

“At the heart of this is making sure that we build beautiful and empower communities to have a say in the development in their area.”

In addition to the planning skills delivery fund, Gove's office confirmed that local council will be given new powers to set up government-backed bodies which will have the power to implement compulsory purchase orders which will allow for the sale of unused land and properties to make way for new developments.

The standard of building is also set to be targeted, with the reform package due to announce the creation of an 'Office for Place'. This will be a body which ensured higher standards of building, as well as making sure that communities have a say in the look of new developments.

The changes have been welcomed by some in the housing industry already, including construction firm Mace and the Royal Institute of British Architects. However, the Local Government Association (LGA) has raised concerns over the loosening of permitted development rights.

Councillor Shaun Davies, chairman of the LGA, said: “Premises such as offices, barns and shops are not always suitable for housing.

“Further expanding permitted development rights risks creating poor quality residential environments that negatively impact people’s health and wellbeing, as well as a lack of affordable housing or suitable infrastructure.

“It is disappointing that the Government have ignored their own commissioned research that concluded that homes converted through a planning application process deliver higher quality homes than those converted via permitted development rights.”