BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE


THE PROPERTY AND CONSTRUCTION SECTOR LITERALLY PROVIDES THE BEDROCK FOR THE WIDER ECONOMY SO IT’S VITAL THAT EVERYTHING POSSIBLE IS DONE TO HELP IT WORK PROPERLY.


The availability of suitable, affordable premises is one of the biggest drivers of economic development. Existing businesses can expand and new investment is drawn to places which provide the right setting for growth.


So you might think that everyone would be falling over themselves to create those conditions. But think again. Andrew Maltby from Deeley Freed Estates Ltd has all too often seen to major impediments to developments.


“The first is the lack of availability of debt finance, particularly for infrastructure to open up opportunities and for ‘soft costs’ or, put another way, up front costs ahead of planning. To get to site is becoming increasingly complex and expensive, even for small schemes. What used to cost £100k to get to an application is now costing more than half a million pounds which is risk money and virtually impossible to fund. “Once planning risk is removed, then for pre- let schemes funding is easing but getting to the planning stage is the issue. There is often a lack of clarity on planning policy and a lack of resource within local planning authorities. Quite a few authorities are operating in policy


social mobility. We need new financial models with incentives for the private sector to build private houses to rent and more innovative financial products for shared ownership.” British Chambers of Commerce have sympathy for Andrew Maltby’s viewpoint, regularly pointing out that planning systems are too complex and time consuming which constrains the growth of enterprise and there are concerns that elements of the Localism Bill will do nothing to remove barriers.


WATCH THE SMALL PRINT


What used to cost £100k to get to an application is now costing more than half a million pounds which is risk money and virtually impossible to fund


vacuums in key areas, particularly housing supply targets and officers are over burdened with a backlog of work so the system is grinding to a halt.


“I would like to see more out sourcing and, dare I say, probably higher planning fees to discourage speculative applications and to enable local authorities to pay outside consultants to handle cases where financial constraints mean adequate experienced planning officers cannot be recruited.”


When it comes to what development should be the priority, Andrew is clear that it has to be housing: “Demographics are only going one way. The lack of affordable housing is affecting employment and


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Even if you find what you believe is a suitable property you may not be out of the woods, because there can be hidden risks within the premises.


Nicholas Sealy, of Land Lore Ltd, a commercial real estate and planning consultancy, says a property related threat can have a major impact on a business if it has not been planned for or managed in the right way.


“What if a major new development scheme required your premises to be razed to the ground, or the road to be dug up for a new sewer or a tram line so that access to your premises was


severely impaired for a significant period? Suppose the Environment Agency advised that they had to construct flood alleviation works on your land?


“In each of these examples, the proposed works are likely to be much needed for the wider benefits that they will bring. However, your interest in the equation is nonetheless an important one and, handled correctly, the impact on it could be significantly reduced. “Other threats can be just as significant. How would you respond to the submission of a competitor’s planning application? Would you know where to look for a property angle to protect your interest?


Business West Update JULY/AUGUST 2011


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