INDUSTRY NEWS 5
Government confirms ‘Levelling Up’ housing pledges
brownfield funding pot. In addition, a new Social Housing
Regulation Bill will “deliver upon the commitments the Government made following the Grenfell tragedy.” The Government also pledged to legislate “for the first time ever” that all homes in the Private Rented Sector will have to meet the Decent Homes Standard. ‘No fault’ Section 21 evictions be abolished, “meaning renters should no longer be kicked out of their homes for no reason,” said DLUHC. Further to this, Government will consult on introducing a landlords register, and will set out plans for a “crack- down on rogue landlords.”
the firm, said: “The Government’s acknowledgement that reaction to date has been slow and ineffective will be cold comfort, particularly in relation to those with non-cladding issues. Government must accept when its own performance has not been acceptable and ensure a rapid improvement.” Mike Robinson, chief executive of the British Safety Council agreed: “The Government must also shoulder its own responsibilities, having overseen the regulatory framework that led to Grenfell and other similar tragedies. We need to see all sides taking a positive and constructive approach to discussions between now and March.”
The details of the Government’s Levelling Up White Paper have been revealed, including a range of housing announcements as part of a broad devolution agenda.
Among a range of proposals intended to increase prosperity for regions targeted for ‘levelling up’ outside London and the south east, significant plans for the housing sector were confirmed by Secretary of State for Housing, Michael Gove. However the moves have been criti- cised for not being new investment. Gove announced a Homes England-led project to regenerate 20 towns and city centres, starting with Wolverhampton and Sheffield. They will undertake “ambitious, King’s Cross-style regenera- tion projects, transforming derelict urban sites into beautiful communities,” said the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). The ‘80/20 rule’ (which causes 80% of Government funding for housing to be directed at ‘maximum affordability areas’ – principally London and the south east) will be scrapped under the plans. Also, much of the Government’s current £1.8bn brownfield funding will be diverted to sites in the north and midlands, with city Mayors being allocated £120m of it. The £1.5bn Levelling Up Home Building Fund was also announced for loans to SME builders, targeting “areas that are a priority for levelling up,” with “genuinely affordable social housing. However despite being hailed as ‘new’ money by the Government, this will reportedly be taken from the £1.8bn
Industry gives mixed response to Gove’s re-cladding requirements
The construction and housing industries have given a mixed response to Michael Gove’s announcement that £4bn for replacing cladding to ensure it is fire-safe on buildings over 11 metres will be passed from leaseholders to house- builders, developers and product manufacturers. David Renard, spokesperson for the Local Government Association, welcomed the Secretary of State’s “threat to use the legal system to ensure developers meet their responsibilities to leaseholders as a “positive step.”
He added that the construction industry “must be made to fix the fire safety defects it has built into blocks owned by councils and housing associations.” He said if the Government didn’t do this, remedial costs for social housing blocks “will fall on council housing revenue accounts and housing associations.” Developers have been given a deadline of early March to created a “fully funded plan of action” to address cladding responsibilities, otherwise the Government will step in with legal measures to force them to do so. Law firm Irwin Mitchell believed that Gove’s proposals were“of questionable efficacy and breadth.”Jeremy Raj, national head of residential property at
Jeremy Raj added: “The cladding on Grenfell had nothing to do with current or historic developers of new build homes, having been retrofitted many years after the original build, using materials that were clearly dangerous that seem to have been ignored or waved through by the regulatory authorities.”
“The idea that responsibility for resolving the cladding scandal – which has now widened to become a general build- ing safety scandal – should be laid solely at the doors of developers asked to voluntarily cough up more cash, is likely to lead only to further delay and heartbreak for leaseholders caught in dangerous or un-sellable properties. Raj concluded: “Many developers will be puzzled as to how and to what extent they can justify such expenditure on a ‘voluntary’ basis in the context of their obligations to shareholders, and a lack of direct responsibility, particularly given clear evidence of contributory negligence by others.” Mike Robinson said that the £4bn promised by Gove “will not pay leaseholders’ costs for other issues beyond cladding that aren’t included in these plans, such as balconies on a building that have been built with flammable material.” He added: “The Grenfell fire showed how broad the building safety crisis is, spanning not just construction but design, manufacturing, fire safety and building management.” Eddie Tuttle, director of policy at the
Chartered Institute of Building, commented that the body was already taking steps to address safety concerns. “The CIOB has been actively engaged in raising standards and promoting best practice in building safety,” he said,” adding that the organisation “will continue to work with industry and government to bring about the culture change that is needed, as well as develop- ing the required competency standards for the duty holder roles under the upcoming Building Safety Act.”
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