Te Countryside Experience • Sunday 12 August 2018


5


Building a lasting legacy


Te government wants to see 300,000 new homes built every year because it recognises that demand far outstrips supply. But even in a good year, such as 2016-17 when 217,350 new homes were completed, the reality falls far short of expectations


Without mechanisms to counter falling supply, the housing crisis could be significantly more acute. But companies such as Richborough Estates are trying to help. Richborough Estates is a growing


strategic land promotion company founded in 2003. It remains both independent and


self-financed, bringing to the market sites with outline planning permission in place in order to support the short- fall in the national housing supply. Richborough’s experienced team


of planners has a success rate of more than 90% in securing planning permissions. Te team is currently working on 80 active sites around the country that could deliver 20,000 new homes — not only helping to satisfy national housing targets, but also contributing to building lasting and sustainable communities. As a founder member of the Land and Developers


Promoters Feder-


ation, the company backs calls to ensure housebuilders have a supply of consented land for the delivery of homes; dispel the myths and miscon- ceptions of the role of land promoters and developers; and enhance the current debate around housing supply. An example of Richborough’s work


and approach can be seen through the promotion of


farmland in Newbold


Richborough’s experienced team of planners has a success rate of more than 90% in securing planning permissions. Te team is currently working on 80 active sites around the country


on Stour, which is near Stratford-up- on-Avon in Warwickshire. Richard Spencer, a third-genera-


tion farmer, was struggling to make a living from his dairy farm and invest in the machinery and buildings required to improve his business. Richborough engaged with stakeholders from the local village and the district council and secured unanimous approval at planning committee for outline permission of up to 50 new homes on part of Richard’s land. Tis approval was made despite the site not being allocated in the local plan. Te land was then sold to


award-winning Lioncourt Homes, an ambitious and growing regional housebuilder, which is now deliv- ering much-needed family homes on the site.


Tis positive outcome allowed


Richard to maintain his family's interest in farming while delivering affordable homes along with new parking for the village church and extra land for the local school. Te


successful implementa-


tion of this holistic view — which benefits the landowner, developer and local community all at the same time — is the cornerstone of Richborough’s approach. Many housebuilders require land


with the benefit of planning consent in place.


In a mature market, land promotion also contributes instant


marketability, which is an incentive to help address the hurdles and risks associated with seeking planning permission in the first place. Tere should always be a balance of


location, style and size of homes being brought forward, and the mix should reflect the housing needs of the areas in which sites are located. While companies such as Richbor-


ough agree that brownfield land should be prioritised for housing, greenfield sites are also needed as part of the mix in order to help meet demand. Strategic land promotion can, in the end, benefit everyone — the


landowner, community, developer and local authority. Working with Richborough can


unlock not just the value of land, but also create a lasting legacy for land- owners and communities alike.


T: 0121 633 4929


E: info@richboroughestates.co.uk richboroughestates.co.uk


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