INDUSTRY NEWS 7
Planning and funding issues cited as the key barriers to social housing
Two issues were cited by speakers at a recent industry event in Westminster as the biggest barriers preventing councils from building more homes, namely achieving planning and access to funding. The Social Policy Forum held at the end
of April saw a selection of Peers, lawyers, industry leaders and journalists gather to exchange views on what they think the future of social housing should entail. “Essentially, planning is the problem,” said panel member Phillip Russell, director at One Oak Development, who believed strongly that as an SME, the current planning system is holding his company, and others, from increasing its housing stock.
Co-chairing the event, Lord Porter of Spalding disagreed. A frequent defender of the current planning process, and one who has publicly criticised PM Theresa May for laying the blame for the country’s lack of homes on councils, he instead put the onus firmly on the treasury. The seminar, which had the title ‘Next steps for social housing policy in England – Supply, standards and priorities for policy’, covered a wide agenda, from progress and current trends in social housing, to the next steps for standards, safety and stakeholder engagement. Safety was particularly contentious, in the post-Grenfell context. Held at the Royal Overseas League London Clubhouse, the event saw Lord Porter, chairman of the Local Government Assocation, continue to raise objections to
voices who sought to blame the planning system for blocking housebuilding. After Phillip Russell professed that there
was “no justice” for small builders in the planning system, Lord Porter intervened and rebuffed this. He self-confessedly “abused his position as chair,” by insisting that nine out of 10 planning applications are approved, and that the issue lies in funding. In his view the Treasury, through “both blue and red” governments, have failed to provide the capital necessary, especially considering housing is an oft- proved successful investment. He reminded the audience that the only time the country has reached the levels of housebuilding necessary to fulfil Government quotas was with a state- funded building programme. A varied selection of issues were discussed by the speakers, from planning and funding prior to building, to the ecology and safety regulations during, to the post-build care and educational aspects of social housing. MHVR (mechanical ventilation with heat recovery), for example, was cited as a significantly benefi- cial tool when used correctly, but leaves many residents confused as to its operation, with one speaker calling for increased tenant education. The perenially topical issue of modular
housing inevitably came into focus at the Forum. Many have heralded the speed, efficiency, and ecological benefits of the method, and certain large-scale builders are already gearing up to begin producing homes with this method. Panel member David Cassidy, head of social housing and Barclays, however believed that modular construction needs more time to prove its worth. Lord Porter agreed, indicating again that a Government-led initiative would be the preferred option, paving the way for future builders to utilise offsite construction with confidence. Of course, a familiar adage was voiced: that Britain doesn’t like change. Later on in the event, after Jamie
Ratcliffe of the GLA provided a measured talk on the implementation of the London Housing Strategy, Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe, chair of the National Housing Federation, led the discussion on the next steps for standards and safety. In light of the Grenfell tragedy, each member of the panel were committed to
the fact that at least a portion of the housing stock (the National Audit Office citing 14 per cent of social homes are not up the current standards) needs to be updated. Money was seen as a major issue preventing momentum, and other perceived causes raised included what were described by one panellist as“overly-esteemed” ecological factors (not agreed across the board) that meant that when building to an extremely tight budget, money could potentially be spent on meeting ecological standards instead of safety. Throughout the event there were many disagreements as to the causation of the current state of social housing. However it was a loud and clear message to Government that the question of how we build more homes needs answers.
£74m deal completed for Ebbsfleet infrastructure
A £74m deal with the intention of “unlock- ing” the next phase of development at Ebbsfleet Garden City in Kent has been completed by Homes England, as part of the Home Building Fund.
The money will fund a range of infra- structure works, including earthworks to fill in a lake to prepare the land for the devel- opment of more than 5,000 new homes. It is hoped that the infrastructure works will unlock 657 acres of land that will be used to develop up to 5,290 new homes, accounting for around a third of the total Ebbsfleet Garden City housing develop- ment, as well as around 180,000ft2 commercial development.
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Homes England are supporting enabling works through a loan deal to Henley Camland, including the preparation of land for the development of housing on both the Castle Hill site and the Eastern Quarry at Ebbsfleet.
Henley Camland has simultaneously agreed land deals for 2,900 homes to be developed. 2,600 of these homes will be delivered by Countryside Properties and Clarion Housing Group in a new joint venture, while Barratt Homes will build 300 homes on this part of the wider site as a direct result of the works funded by Homes England. More than 1,000 of these new homes at
Ebbsfleet will be provided by 2021, with the full scheme due to be completed over the next decade.
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