industry news 5
Government pledges Housing White Paper will “fix broken housing market”
said is a “broken” housing market using new measures aimed to speed up housing delivery by removing obstacles in the planning process. Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said that
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the “bold” new measures in the White Paper, which also contained previously announced ini- tiatives such as the Home Building Fund for small builders and the Affordable Homes Pro- gramme, will ensure the housing market “works for everyone.” However it contained very little on freeing up development in the green belt called for by many across the industry. Javid said: “The current system isn’t working
and is one of the greatest barriers to progress in Britain today.” DCLG said it would improve housing delivery for all home buyers including people on lower incomes, as well as rental tenants and disabled and older people. Key areas within the White Paper included improving planning to get “the right homes built in the right places,” as well as speeding up housebuilding and diversify- ing the market to allow more SME builders in.
Accelerating delivery
Responding to calls for the planning process to more actively promote development, the Gov- ernment put the onus on developers to act faster once planning permission has been granted. DCLG said will “make it easier for councils to issue completion notices to developers,” because if developments stall with “no sign of comple- tion,” planning permission can be withdrawn for the remainder of the site. In addition, the time limit required for devel-
opers to start building after planning permission is granted will be reduced from three years to two. Developers will also be required to provide “greater transparency and information” on their pace of delivery of new housing to councils to assist them in planning for local need. This, said DCLG, will “help address the serious and grow- ing gap between the number of planning permissions granted and the number of new homes completed.”
‘The right homes in the right places’
Councils and developers will also be expected to use land more efficiently by “avoiding building homes at low density and building higher where there is a shortage of land – and in locations well served by public transport such as train stations.” The White Paper announced a consultation on “a new, standardised way of calculating hous-
ing demand to reflect current and future housing pressures.” Every local area will need to produce a “realistic” plan and review it at least every five years. DCLG said: “Currently 40 per cent of local
planning authorities do not have an up to date plan that meets the projected growth in house- holds in their area.” Addressing this, it said, will help make sure enough land is released for new homes to be built in the parts of the country where people want to live and work and “ensure developments take heed of local people’s wishes, while continuing with maximum protections for the green belt.”
Diversifying the market
The White Paper reiterated the potential of the £3bn Home Building Fund to enable SME builders to enter the market, stating that around 60 per cent of new homes were being built by 10 companies. The Government promised that the fund
would produce 25,000 new homes this Parlia- ment and up to 225,000 “in the longer term” by providing loans for SME builders, custom builders, offsite construction and essential infrastructure. Sajid Javid focused on affordability across the
population in announcing the White Paper, say- ing the average house price is now a record eight times more than average earnings and that num-
bers in the private rented sector has doubled since 2000. He said: “With prices continuing to sky
rocket, if we don’t act now, a whole generation could be left behind. We need to do better, and that means tackling the failures at every point in the system. “The housing market in this country is broken
and the solution means building many more houses in the places that people want to live.” Housing Minister, Gavin Barwell commented
on the White Paper: “We are setting out lasting reforms that will get more of the right homes built in the right places.” The White Paper contained an apparent bar
to further flexibility on green belt, DCLG com- menting that “Ministers have reaffirmed this Government’s commitment to the green belt – that only in exceptional circumstances may councils alter green belt boundaries after con- sulting local people and submitting the revised Local Plan for examination.” Instead it set out actions local authorities need to make before considering the green belt, prioritising “suitable brownfield land” and “driving up density in high demand areas.” The Government added it would be “taking
action to radically increase brownfield develop- ment and to bring life back to abandoned sites,” however provided detail in terms of detail on the scope or how it would implement or enforce this policy.
respond online at
www.hbdonline.co.uk
he Department of Communities and Local Government has claimed that its Housing White Paper will fix what it
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