6 INDUSTRY NEWS
Gove casts doubt on 300,000 homes target
Gove told the Sunday Telegraph: “Resist- ance comes down to the quality of what is built, and the fact that housebuilders can make signifi cant profi ts which are not shared equally with the community.” He added: “The planning system means that developers can override the clearly expressed view of local people.” Mr Gove agreed that more homes were required, but told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme it would be “no kind of success to simply hit a target if the homes that are built are shoddy, in the wrong place, don’t have the infrastructure required and are not contributing to beautiful communities.”
The Government remains substantial- ly behind on delivering the target, in 2019/20, its fi rst year in offi ce, 243,000 new homes were built, and this fell to 216,000 in 2020/21, partly because of the disruption caused by the pandemic.
Housing Minister Michael Gove has raised a question mark over whether the Govern- ment is going to see through its 300,000 homes a year target, while announcing powers for local to support or veto plan- ning decisions on home extensions. Gove told the Sunday Telegraph that the 300,000 target “should not be used as a sole measure of success” saying it had raised problems in the past with “people being been driven just to create units of accommodation, rather than homes and communities.”
His comments emerged in the same week as the The Levelling Up and Regen- eration Bill, which included a proposal for ‘street votes,’ as well as community-led ‘design codes’ to help mitigate local resist- ance to housing developments. A spokesman for Boris Johnson later attempted to squash any apparent contra- diction in Gove’ words with the Govern- ment’s “commitment” to the homes deliv- ery target, telling the BBC it was “central” to levelling up. However doubt still remains over how binding the manifesto pledge now is to build 300,000 homes a year in England by the mid-2020s. Although suggesting that the 300,000 homes target was not the only measure of success, Gove added that the Government “would do everything they could to reach it,” adding that the quality of homes was critical.
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Housing measures confi rmed in ‘Levelling-Up’ Queen’s Speech
As well as promises to tackle rising infl ation, a number of Bills affecting the industry were announced in the Queen’s Speech – including procurement reform and new planning powers. Among the 38 Bills and draft Bills announced in the speech were the Renters Reform Bill and Social Housing Regula- tion Bill, the Procurement Bill to replace EU rules, the Energy Security Bill (which will aim to boost renewable energy and promote electric heat pumps), and the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, giving councils new planning powers, including forcing landlords in England to let out empty shops.
While many in the industry have praised these efforts – especially in contin- uing the path to decarbonisation and the rewed focus on planning, others claim the changes will do little to help those suffer- ing under a cost of living crisis. Richard Beresford, chief executive of the NFB, welcomed the news: “Construc- tion will be delighted to hear that local procurement processes are being re- formed to help SMEs, Levelling Up will fo-
cus on employment and regeneration, and regulatory reforms for business and on EU policy are coming. It is also good to see the Government recognise that without greater powers, East to West high-speed rail will not get off the ground.” “However,” he added, “planning reform, which is key to Levelling Up, didn’t offer anything on housing supply or to build- ers but instead concentrated on resident involvement and greater local powers. Similarly, despite the mention of an Ener- gy Bill, social housing and Infrastructure Bank, planning, which enables these am- bitions in practice, was not mentioned.” When it came to planning and housing,
Brian Berry, CEO of the Federation of Mas- ter Builders, gave a qualifi ed welcome: “It was good to see a renewed focus, through the Government’s Levelling Up Bill, on planning reform. Small, local housebuild- ers have been producing fewer and fewer homes for decades, with those in the market facing signifi cant barriers to their work. In the 1980s, 40% of new houses were delivered by SME housebuilders; this fi gure now sits at a mere 12%. “Planning has long been an issue for smaller housebuilders, with 62% of FMB members saying recently reporting that it’s making it harder for them to build homes. Greater investment in local authority planning teams would add capacity and enable faster turnaround times of applications, reducing delays and easing the strain on resources. Consider- ing today’s commitments, I hope to see signifi cant improvements to reverse the decades-long decline of SME housebuild- ers. These local building fi rms play a vital role in their local areas, employing school leavers, building good quality homes in the local vernacular and reinvesting their success back into their communities.”
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