4 INDUSTRY NEWS
FROM THE EDITOR
Happy new year, as they say. With Boris warning the coming weeks will be the “hardest yet,” the majority of the country has plunged back into lockdown.
Jack Wooler
For many in the industry, however, life will go on as near normal as possible. Sites remain open and, as in much of 2020, the industry will push on.
Despite these challenges, December PMI activity data indicated a sustained recovery in UK construction, led by the fastest rise in new orders since October 2014, and with housebuilding the best-performing category.
Unfortunately, employment trends remained relatively weak, stretched supply chains resulted in a “sharp increase” in average cost burdens, and construction has seen a slowdown in activity since the summer.
While the pandemic rages on, the desperate need for increased housing delivery of course remains as strong as ever. Looking back to 2020, even with activity having approached pre-08 levels at times, the industry still fell woefully short of the 300,000 homes per year target.
The Government tried make some headway towards addressing this last August with its planning White Paper, though its formula for allocating land was met with controversy both from the industry and Parliament. Following recent backlash from Conservative MPs (including former PM Theresa May) however, the Government U-turned on this so-called “mutant” algorithm.
As discussed on the following pages, the DCLG is now jettisoning the formula, which would have seen many more homes built in rural areas, and instead is prioritising housebuilding in urban centres and on brownfield.
The news was generally welcomed. With many authorities being staunchly protective of greenfield and disused industrial land widely available, brownfield initiatives are positive news.
ON THE COVER
Broadoaks Park, built around a restored Surrey mansion, offers rural setting and short London commute
01.21
HOUSEBUILDER & DEVELOPER
Dr Jones of Changing Streams explores the consequences of plastic waste in construction
Government U-turns on ‘mutant’ planning algorithm after pressure from Tory back-benchers
Not everyone was happy, of course. The Land Promoters and Developers Federation (LPDF) called the announcement “very disappointing,” arguing that homes will now be built “where a group of Conservative backbenchers in the south east think they should live.”
Even aside from this fight over land yet to be allocated, a report from the Local Government Association (LGA) showed that more than a million homes on land earmarked for development by councils haven’t been put in for planning by developers. The LGA has again argued that this means planning is not the barrier it's made out to be.
Others have criticised the Government’s direction entirely, believing the DCLG to be chasing numbers to the exclusion of all else – leading some larger developers to ‘run rampant’ at the cost of quality, ecology, and suitability.
The pandemic has already seen an exodus from cities, and the uptake in the facilitation of working from home will only see this increase. Has the recent U- turn taken this into account?
PUBLIC CONNECTIVITY
The green light for 400 new homes at Clayton Road in Hayes, west London, has been granted to property group A2Dominion, bringing connectivity to the Grand Union Canal.
Clayton Road: go to page 14
WWW.HBDONLINE.CO.UK
Whichever side you sit on, while the Government and our slogan-fond PM focus on trumpeting statistics from large-scale, infrastructure-led developments, it is clear that the rest of the industry has a huge task in achieving quality, sustainable housing at pace through difficult times. Perhaps it is time to consign the planning scapegoat to the past?
Jack Wooler, deputy editor
HOUSEBUILDER & DEVELOPER
Publisher Anthony Parker
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Deputy Editor Jack Wooler
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