Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Business

Next CEO Lord Wolfson says planning rules are stifling economy and society

by December 7, 2023
December 7, 2023
Next CEO Lord Wolfson says planning rules are stifling economy and society

The chief executive of Next has called for an overhaul of Britain’s planning rules as he warned that the current system is “holding back industry and society”.

Lord Wolfson of Aspley Guise, 56, said that trying to build stores of the right size in the places where people want to shop has been a “constant battle” over the past 30 years and “that is replicated across the whole industry”.

“If you ask any type of business, whether it be energy infrastructure, warehousing, distribution or call centres, and ask them to name their biggest concerns, planning is going to be top on their list of issues,” he said. “The time it takes to get permission, the cost of getting it and the inability to build what you really need to build is holding back industry and society.”

Building Next’s warehouses could be quicker than the three or four years it takes to get planning permission, Wolfson said.

The businessman added that the current system, designed in 1947, also “slows down, prevents and increases the cost of building new homes. So there is a profound social impact as well as an economic impact from the way our planning system works.”

Wolfson, who has been a Tory peer since 2010, said the “unlocking” of planning and giving less power to land owners would be the “key to driving growth and productivity in the UK”.

“Rather than the government having to initiate and decide where people live, work, eat, sleep and take their leisure, have a system which starts with a free market, but a free market with rigorous controls and regulations,” he said. “While you can’t prevent other properties being built if you own a property, you can prevent the building of things that would damage the value of your property. You’d end up with a system that allows the market to decide where and how things are built.”

The retail chief, who studied law at Cambridge University, added that “you can see just how much potential is locked up in the planning system by looking at the difference in the value of an acre of land without planning permission versus an acre of land with”.

He explained that an acre of agricultural land was often worth about £15,000 and an acre of land with planning permission for housing would be worth about £1.5 million.

Wolfson is one of the longest serving chief executives in the FTSE 100. The Next boss was a prominent supporter of the Conservative Party leader David Cameron and took a high-profile role in the 2010 election campaign by organising the business rebellion against Labour’s planned rise in national insurance.

Read more:
Next CEO Lord Wolfson says planning rules are stifling economy and society

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Frasers Group CEO Michael Murray warns of ‘softening’ in global luxury market as sales fall
next post
Bank of England set to examine risks posed by artificial intelligence

You may also like

Price rises inevitable if UK small businesses to survive, new analysis...

May 26, 2023

Wales considers 25% income tax cut to tackle...

September 20, 2024

Dragons’ Den: Entrepreneurs secure investment for their pet...

March 28, 2024

The great ex-retire hire: Why UK businesses are...

December 8, 2022

Gatwick sees 7.7% passenger increase as short-haul demand...

August 23, 2024

From Author to Entrepreneur: Building a Business Around...

January 17, 2024

Homeworking means over an hour extra time to...

January 25, 2023

Capital Gains Tax changes may reveal underpaid tax

September 19, 2023

Why excellent stock management is vital to running...

May 13, 2023

UK Government urged to avoid replicating Irish housing...

August 7, 2024

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Trump warns Rand Paul he’s playing into ‘hands of the Democrats’ with ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ opposition

      June 1, 2025
    • White House urges Iran to accept nuclear deal as IAEA reports uranium enrichment spike

      June 1, 2025
    • Israel hostage deal in doubt as Hamas adds demands, US envoy calls terms ‘unacceptable’

      May 31, 2025
    • Iran condemns Austria over report on advanced nuclear weapons program

      May 31, 2025
    • Michelle Obama facing backlash over claim about women’s reproductive health

      May 31, 2025
    • Hamas agrees to release 10 more hostages

      May 31, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,105)
    • Investing (2,000)
    • Politics (15,453)
    • Stocks (3,119)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved