The government has unveiled a raft of measures to help it meet its pledge of building one million new homes over this Parliament.
In a speech delivered this morning [24 July], Michael Gove, housing and levelling up secretary, outlined measures to “unblock” the planning system and build more new homes in the right places where there is local consent.
Gove said rather than “concreting over the countryside” the government would prioritise building in inner-city areas where demand is highest and growth is being constrained.
A key part of the government’s plans include a new urban quarter in Cambridge to “unlock the city’s full potential as a source of innovation and talent”. The quarter would offer up to 250,000 “beautiful” new homes supported by state-of-the-art facilities with cutting-edge laboratories and green spaces.
Gove said the government intended to set up a new “super squad” team of leading planners and other experts tasked with unblocking major housing developments across the country and the first team would be deployed in Cambridge to “turbocharge” the government’s plans for the city. He added Peter Freeman, chair of Homes England, would lead the Cambridge “delivery group” to explore how housing in the city could be expanded.
The government is also “immediately launching” a £24m Planning Skills Delivery Fund to clear planning backlogs and “get the right skills in place” and it intends to ask developers to contribute more through planning fees to “help support a higher quality more efficient planning service”.
Other measures announced by Gove include: new flexibilities to convert shops, takeaways and betting shops into homes to help rejuvenate high streets; cutting red tape to enable barn conversions and the repurposing of agricultural buildings and disused warehouses; and new freedoms to extend homes, convert lofts and renovate new buildings to help to convert existing properties into new accommodation under permitted development rights.
Gove also unveiled plans to launch a new body called the ‘Office for Place’ to “lead a design revolution and ensure local people have a say in how housing is designed” and a consultation on reforming local plans, to make them simpler, shorter and more visual, showing clearly what is planned in local areas so communities can engage.
Gove said: “Most people agree that we need to build more homes – the question is how we go about it. Rather than concreting over the countryside, we have set out a plan today to build the right homes in the right places where there is community support – and we’re putting the resources behind it to help make this vision a reality. At the heart of this is making sure that we build beautiful and empower communities to have a say in the development in their area.”
Industry reaction:
Mike Derbyshire
Head of planning, Bidwells
“The government’s announcement today should prove to be a massive step towards unlocking the full commercial power of Cambridge’s high-potential life science industry. Obstructive planning laws have thus far stifled this potential through blocking the construction of much needed lab space.
“The ‘Cambridge delivery group’, established with the intention of boosting lab space availability, signals the government’s alertness to the area’s ability to drive economic growth at a national level. It also shows that policymakers recognise that planning reforms must focus on business as much as it does on housing.”
Victoria Du Croz
Head of planning and partner, Forsters
“The government and DLUHC appear to be having a knee jerk reaction to the results of last week’s local elections and the impending general election in 2024, essentially seeking to demonstrate that action has been taken to deliver on housing and development in the current parliamentary term. A focus on inner cities makes sense, given the Conservative’s aversion to delivering development on the green belt, but the reality of bringing more homes to the cities will mean building high in order to reach the necessary density.
“Neither brownfield sites or conversions of office to resi have delivered the number of new homes that are needed across the country to date. Re-focusing on these planning mechanisms, by expanding permitted development rights to shop and commercial conversions is unlikely to boost housing numbers to the levels that are needed. Today’s announcement failed to recognise the vital importance of a cohesive vision for our towns and cities, that housing is just one element of growing the economy and supporting people. Housing is needed alongside job creation, space for warehousing and a retail and leisure strategy.”
Marc Vlessing
CEX, Pocket Living
“Whilst we welcome the government’s announcement to support housing delivery across England, we remain concerned that the announcement falls short of providing immediate solutions to the growing challenges facing an industry under siege. We need housing today, not tomorrow and that is why for the last year we, along with almost 50 organisations ranging from Barratt Homes, G15, the National Housing Federation to countless SMEs, have been campaigning for a small site planning policy.
“Through simple changes to national policy, which could be enacted overnight through ministerial direction, the government could unlock literally thousands of small brownfield sites across England with the potential to deliver up to 1.6 million homes. But sadly, thus far, the government has not delivered against our initiative as they have kicked it into the long grass of ‘NPPF consultation’. However, we need action now to halt the planning blight that is stopping the delivery of small sites and much needed affordable housing. So we, along with the growing industry coalition, urgently encourage the secretary of state to fast-track plans around small sites, which will provide a lifeline to both SMEs and affordable housing providers across the country.”
Maria Hudson,
CMO, Zutec
“There’s no doubt we urgently need to build more housing stock, both private and social. However ramping up construction should never come at the cost of quality, which is why it’s so important that future developments align with the new regulatory framework. I think the secretary of state realises this, given the persistence of safety and maintenance-related issues post-Grenfell.
“Yes, things like Part L, the BSA and the recently introduced second staircase requirement will make the build process longer, but are essential to achieve the safe and sustainable homes people rightly expect. Of course, developers can ease the legal and legislative pressure with the right tech in place to support the build journey, from design to handover. The good news is it’s now mainstream, and affordable, making it easier than ever to comply with government requirements.”
Stuart Baillie
Head of planning, Knight Frank
“This announcement is unlikely to have meaningful impact on housing supply. It’s likely that the output of this policy will only create hundreds of new homes, instead of the many thousands needed to make a real impact on the UK’s significant housing shortage. This policy will only paper over the cracks, instead of getting to the heart of the issue facing the UK’s overburdened and under-resourced planning system. In many instances, residential amenity would be compromised by a town centre location – particularly ground floor retail – meaning conversion or redevelopment would be limited to fringe and out-of-town areas.
“Local planning authorities will be very concerned that the proposals could create a loss of retail capacity, impact local retail amenity and reduce the vitality of already struggling town centres that have fallen victim to the rise of online shopping in recent years. If the plans are to work, local level strategies must be implemented to ensure core retail spaces are protected and the mix of uses within them remains balanced. We have seen from office to residential permitted development rights that if the process isn’t properly managed, we could end up with substandard residential accommodation that does not meet local housing need.”
Colin Brown
Head of planning and development, Carter Jonas
“There is some encouragement in relation to suggestions of new lines of funding to help local authorities with their significant workload/backlogs. Development corporations may well have a place if the government genuinely wishes to ramp up delivery, for example in Cambridge. Cambridge is however surrounded by a green belt so significant questions will remain as to how you capitalise on its ongoing potential without recognising that some green belt development will almost certainly be needed. How you leverage in new infrastructure is a further key question.
“What seems clear however is that national housing targets look set to be abandoned. The reference to urban areas and brownfield sites anticipates the fact that greenfield development in areas of greatest housing need do not really feature. While we would support use of brownfield land it is simply incorrect to suggest that the housing crisis can be met in this way. Greenfield and green belt land will both need to be considered.”
Lawrence Turner
Director, Boyer
“Michael Gove’s announcement today will make it easier to convert retail premises and agricultural building into homes and relax permitted development rules for homeowners to convert loft spaces and renovate buildings – building on the government’s ‘Brownfield First’ policy announced in February this year. The policy announcement is also expected to include creating development corporations that would have CPO powers to directly acquire land and build homes.
“Regrettably, the current policy announcement falls significantly short of addressing the UK’s housing crisis. Offering a complete solution demands a balanced strategy, encompassing both brownfield and greenfield development, and a proper review of the green belt. Unfortunately, the present government announcements sidestep any commitment to development on greenfield land.
“Prioritising brownfield land is nothing new. Governments have always prioritised the development of brownfield land – land that has been previously used for industry, commerce, or other urban uses, and is now derelict, under-utilised or contaminated due to its former uses.
Josie Parsons
Chief executive, Local Space
“While we welcome the focus on greater housing delivery, especially within our cities, we are disappointed by the lack on focus on tackling one of the biggest social and economic challenges facing those cities. Namely the shocking increase in homelessness and the desperate need to provide more safe and secure longer-term accommodation to help alleviate this crisis. Tackling homeless not only is a social imperative, there are significant economic benefits to be had through greater productivity.”
Simon Burson
Partner and head of the Cambridge office, BDB Pitmans
“Michael Gove is looking to turn Cambridge into the UK’s answer to Silicon Valley. At the heart of those plans is a ‘planning hit squad’ and a ‘rewrite of environmental regulations’ that will see the creation of what he has called a ‘new urban quarter’ of up to 250,000 new homes built by 2040. Cambridge 2040 is the latest in a long line of ambitious announcements to build a rival to California’s Silicon Valley. They often do little more than gather headlines and dust.
“New and affordable housing is undoubtedly needed, but 250,000 new homes are unlikely to be welcomed locally. The proposed rewrite will need to overcome long term issues affecting housing in the region; not just the planning conditions but also the lack of infrastructure and water in the driest part of the country. Space in the city and its surrounding areas is already tight and housing alone will not create a rival to Silicon Valley. Investment in lab and commercial space will too be needed and Michael Gove’s plan is alarmingly light on detail. Who will fund this and where will it go?
“It should of course be remembered that a tax and commercial environment that encourages businesses to relocate, grow and stay in the city is needed. It is a complex picture and one that is not only built on real estate. That said, other cities across the UK, notably Oxford, will be watching and reading the government’s proposals closely to ensure they are not disadvantaged by these plans. Cambridge continues to grow and thrive thanks more to the talent and ambition of the businesses and people that choose to live and work in the city rather than government proposals.
Mike Hood
CEO of Landsec’s regeneration arm
“We were delighted to see the Levelling Up secretary of state Michael Gove set out so clearly why brownfield urban regeneration is the best vehicle to deliver the growth, homes and jobs that the UK needs. This principle underpinned our recent paper – developed with British Land – which set out ways to reform the planning system to unlock the potential of brownfield urban regeneration. We were particularly pleased to see the creation of a ‘super planning squad’ – a measure that we explicitly called for in the report.
“If the government accepts the principle that brownfield urban regeneration is the vehicle to deliver the growth we need, it’s also important we follow that through with planning reform designed to support it. We’ve set out a series of proposals on how do this – and look forward to working with those keen to make it happen.”
Sam Rees
Senior public affairs officer, RICS
“RICS welcomes the UK government’s announcement on boosting the supply of homes, which is essential to creating a vibrant and affordable housing market. RICS has repeatedly stressed the importance of setting new homes targets, and the commitment from Michael Gove to building one million homes during this government is a step in the right direction. However, this figure is lower than the government’s original 300,000 new build annual target, which it never met.
“Investment in additional planning resources is welcome, as is the greater importance and consideration of community infrastructure, which is critical to sustainable placemaking. Plans to cut red tape to encourage extensions and conversions won’t deliver a significant increase in new homes at scale, but it can help to repurpose high streets and bring shops and offices back into use. That said, RICS stresses that any cut in red tape must not come at the detriment of quality, safety, and sustainability, that we have seen with prior planning reforms.”
