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think we need to believe that this time it’s going to happen – Keir Starmer and his Housing Secretary Angela Rayner are going to build a lot more homes. Labour is tethering housebuilding to its growth-oriented early strategic moves; Rachel Reeves’ fi rst speech as Chancellor was dominated by moves aimed at honouring the 1.5 million homes pledge.


Labour has reintroduced mandatory housing targets, and taken aim at an “unfair” planning system where “determined blockers can gum up the entire building supply chain.” Starmer however also admitted that “reforming planning regulations would be “controversial.”


This could be understatement number one – Reeves and Rayner are aiming to call in objected schemes based on their contribution to the “national and local economy” – overruling local planners – and this could see a panoply of local skirmishes. Starmer says local communities will “continue to shape housebuilding in their area” (and Reeves bolstered this saying “it will be up to local communities to decide where to build.”) But the big change, said Starmer before the Election, is that ultimately Labour “won’t be afraid to use intervention powers to build the houses we need where necessary.” ‘Intervention’ could be understatement number two, if Labour is really to deliver the eye popping stat of 1,150 homes needed every day over the next fi ve years needed to hit the magic 1.5 million – estimated as fi ve large scale housing estates per week. While very messy in places, railroading local objections may be the necessary means to an end, despite the inevitable casualties. Labour’s manifesto promises include the “biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation,” and given the party’s DNA you’d expect this to be a promise honoured at least to some degree. But in the fi rst few days of the new Government we have yet to see details of the changes to the Affordable Homes Programme that will, says Starmer, “deliver more homes from existing funding.”


Commentators in the social housing sector are worried this could mean a diversion of focus away from shared ownership, which has delivered over 250,000 homes and around £6.5bn to housing associations, to social rent and new build. Starmer said they will “support councils and housing associations to build their capacity,” but the industry needs clarity on this.


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Alongside the changes to more new build social housing, Labour’s innovative ‘grey belt’ idea is going to be the buzzword, or possibly bête noire, in local communities in the next few months and years, as people fi ght (possibly literally) over whether a local unused site should really be protected as green belt. With the constrained plots available plus the straitened economic outlook (including for housebuilders), good design should be the tool the Government chooses to alleviate the impact of new urban additions. One of the big questions for architects, as ever in large-scale housebuilding, is where they will get a look in. Maybe helping to ensure that designs on cheek-by-jowl plots are much more sensitive to existing householders will be where careful design can be brought to bear, and help assuage local fears.


James Parker, Editor


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BEAM HERTFORD, EAST HERTFORDSHIRE Bennetts Associates celebrated the existing features of Hertford’s theatre in its major refurbishment and expansion


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A renovation of a riverside theatre and cinema complex by expert architects Bennetts Associates elevates Hertford’s cultural offerings. Cover image © Hufton + Crow For the full report on this project, go to page 24


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