COMMENT
Planning for a change
O
ne of the things the new Labour Government went into the election with was the promise that it would ensure there are more houses built. Every single new administration has tried to do this. Every single manifesto for decades has banged on about some variant of Get Britain Building, with varying degrees of success. And by varying, I mean not really any at all. We have too few homes in this country for the number of people who want to live in them. It can also be argued that many of the homes that are being built are of the wrong type for the area. In my little cosy corner of the south east, if you want to buy your first home, or even just move away from the parental home and rent, it’s nigh on impossible. What you can do though, is buy a flat in any number of retirement complexes, complete with restaurants, hair salons and maintained, landscaped gardens. As long as you are over 60, and flush with your baby-boomer pension proceeds, because these places are spendy.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has announced changes to the planning system to ensure more houses are built. As many as 1.5million homes by the end of this Parliament. Good luck with that, lady. Councils will have their local housing targets re-introduced, more resource is promised to allow planning departments to actually function, and some projects are likely to be labelled Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, so that the final approval lies with the housing secretary rather than local councils.
There is also the removal of the requirement for new builds to be ‘beautiful’’, because, as Rayner points out, ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’, and that requirement was, in many cases, just used as a block on development.
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EDITORIAL
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Or not, because there have been some truly hideous things thrown up round my way of late. As well as some that are striking, and not unattractive to look at, but which probably worked better on the architect’s CAD drawings than on the edge of a market town in rural Sussex.
Happily, Rayner has promised that there will still be the requirement for newbuilds to be in keeping with their area, as well as being “safe, warm, and sustainable”.
There was a lot of talk about allowing for more building on the green belt, which doesn’t, fingers crossed, mean thousands of ugly boxes across the green and pleasant land. It’s more a push to use, firstly, brownfield sites, and then the so- called ‘grey-belt’, that unlovely part of the green belt that really doesn’t need to be preserved. I can think of half-a-dozen sites near me, which, whilst ostensibly being ‘green belt land’ would look a darn sight better with a few terraced townhouses and some nice flowerbeds. Disused warehouses, empty former garage forecourts, that sort of thing.
If they get it right, Labour could go into the next Parliament with more people housed, in better quality housing, and in places that they can afford. But the market forces will still have a part to play. Generally, we want housing to be more affordable when we are buying, and for it to rise in value when we are selling or counting our assets, that’s just human nature. Volume housebuilders aren’t charities – far from it – and will only play ball with Labour as long as it doesn’t affect their profit margins and their shareholder dividends. BMJ
Fiona Russell-Horne Group Managing Editor - BMJ
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CONTENTS 4 Newsround
The news from around the industry. 8 News Extra
Initial thoughts on the new government. 10 People
Who’s moved where, and 10 minutes with… 11 In Person
Ricky Coakley, Lawsons commercial director
17 Meet the Future Anneka Helgesen, key account manager at ACO. 19.
Business Helpdesk The BMF’s Sector Awareness Campaign update.
16 Viewpoint Our regular and guest columnists.
19 BMJ Industry Awards 2024 The votes have been counted; meet the finalists and book your tickets.
22 Merchant focus A new branch for SBS.
24 Timber
Timber sales and a new look. 26 Workwear
What to stock for the seasons. 29 IT
Software developments amongst merchants. ADVERTISING
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32 Ironmongery & Security The trends and developments in door hardware and locks.
34 Industry Voice News & views from the BMF.
36 Product news
Latest products and developments from suppliers.
38 And Finally News and the Prize Crossword.
August 2024
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