The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has set out the Government's plans for housing and planning following the announcements in the 2020 Budget in a document called, "Planning for the Future". Selected headlines include:
The Government will back brownfield, encouraging greater building in urban areas.
It will introduce new tools to support communities to densify and make best use of their underutilised brownfield land, including:
• Investing £400m to use brownfield land productively
• Launching a national brownfield map and a call for proposals for building above stations – the Government will launch a national brownfield sites map in April 2020 and will conduct a call for proposals to seek evidence on the barriers to, and opportunities in, building above stations in urban areas.
The Government will revise the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to embed the principles of good design and placemaking – this will make clear that high-quality buildings and places must be considered throughout the planning process.
The full document is available here https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/872091/Planning_for_the_Future.pdf
Earlier in the month MHCLG also announced that dozens of community groups will receive funding to transform neglected urban spaces into thriving green spaces.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/68-new-parks-to-inject-green-space-into-urban-areas