28 Nov As millions is pledged to liberalise planning, builders ask, who is going to build Britain’s much needed housing?
Jeremy Hunt has proposed measures to boost housebuilding in the UK, including investing an additional £32 million across housing and planning and tackling planning backlogs in Local Planning Authorities. However, shareholders in FTSE 100 were left uninspired about the future. The construction industry has long been facing challenges impacting housebuilding, from rising mortgage costs to the Help to Buy scheme closing to new applicants making affordability out of reach for first-time buyers. In response to the Autumn Statement, Clive Holland, broadcaster on Fix Radio – the UK’s only national radio station for builders and the trade – discusses the current state of the UK’s planning system and explains what the UK must do to meet homebuilding targets, with a point of view from the trades.
As of September, planning for housebuilding in London has been revealed to be at its quietest since 2010 due to soaring costs, interest rates, and red tape all suppressing housebuilding activity. Data from Molior and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said new home applications submitted and approved, totalled at just 21,918 in the first half of 2023, which is also the lowest figure seen in 13 years. The firm revealed that if the industry continues at the same rate, the market will end the year with applications for 11,800 homes, 47% below previous recordings since the global financial crisis in 2010.
Clive Holland, presenter at Fix Radio – the UK’s only national radio station dedicated to tradespeople – provides his insight on the current state of the construction industry:
“The current government’s former target of building 300,000 new homes a year was completely unrealistic and feels as if they made as many promises as they could because a general election was around the corner.
“Housing Secretary, Michael Gove, has said the planning system is not working and as such, a new reform bill is being unveiled as a part of this levelling up against this rhetoric regeneration bill. If any future government was serious about housebuilding targets and demand, there is a lot that needs to be done.
“For me, there’s so much red tape surrounding regeneration that’s been around for a long time. Most brownfield sites already have construction, for instance, disused office blocks, public buildings, and long forgotten industrial areas, all of which could be changed if it wasn’t for the red tape.
“I think reduced rates should be given for building on the millions of acres of brownfield across the UK as an extra incentive for major housebuilders. It would reduce the nimbyism and the naysayers who do not want to see greenfield sites concreted over.
“Currently, there are well more than 1 million properties across the United Kingdom without residents, including unused second homes, whilst there are hundreds of thousands of people in need of housing – it doesn’t make sense.
“Under the current rules, it takes an average of five years for a standard housing development to go through the planning system. Since the COVID pandemic, everything has been done digitally and unfortunately taken its toll on house planning. Now, we are unable to go into planning offices and speak with someone directly meaning the whole process has become a lot slower, all because they have cut back on staff.
“We are still experiencing numerous sites being mothballed simply because resources and interest rates are too high. I think it’s all going to come to a grinding halt if we continue the way we’re going.
“The nutrient neutrality is going to allow for an additional 100,000 homes to be built in England by 2023. Yet, it often requires mitigation as part of the development either in the form of onsite treatment of wastewater and surface water runoff or by offsetting. Builders are rejoicing about nutrient neutrality now cutting a lot of the red tape, but I don’t think it will cut a lot of the problems in the future.
“Another red tape aspect that I think is a major issue is the scrapping of the four-year rule without any reasoning or replacing it with something else. This encourages the rogue element of the construction industry and can create eye sores for neighbours and the wider public – it’s a recipe for disaster.
“My problem always falls back into the hands of these ministers as none of them have experience in construction and it’s time that they should be guided by people with experience and the correct expertise.”
