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Broken housing: Builders' federation responds

8 Feb 17 The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has given a broad welcome to the government’s plans to hit its target of getting a million new homes built by 2020.

Responding to the government policy document, Fixing our broken housing market, FMB chief executive Brian Berry said: “I’m pleased that the white paper recognises the potential for SMEs to deliver far more homes than they do currently. In addition, it accurately identifies the key barriers to them doing so as land, planning and finance. Of these, finding small sites and then getting planning permission is the greatest single barrier. In too many places, the approach to planning for new homes has come to be focused almost entirely on large sites and large scale delivery. This approach has slowed down the delivery of homes, and has helped shape an uncompetitive house building industry and an unresponsive supply of housing – this has to end.”

He continued: “There’s a proposal in the white paper to take forward a presumption in favour of small scale development of sorts and this is a huge step forward. So too is the proposal to encourage permissions on so-called windfall sites, that is sites not allocated in local plans. Smaller windfall sites must be seen as critical elements in the supply of land and new housing, not as awkward add-ons. Furthermore, plans to boost resources for planning departments could be used to provide an adrenalin shot to a planning system which has been running on near-empty for too long now. The proposed 20% hike in planning fees, which will only apply where local authorities agree to invest the extra resources in planning, will get a cautious welcome from most small developers. If this can be shown to deliver observable improvements in planning services, then it would make a good case for further increases along the lines the white paper suggests.”

Brian Berry concluded: “There is much that is good and sensible in the white paper so let’s use it as a launch pad for a real step change in delivery. Local authorities are set to be given more resources and more powers. However, the targets arising from the new housing delivery tests, against which councils will be measured, will not be met with a continued over-reliance on large developers and large sites. If a local authority fails to meet its targets it could lose control over its own planning policy and the threat of this should be provide the impetus for councils to push more small sites through the system. It is in everyone’s interest to see SMEs play a far greater role in house building and small sites are key to this.”

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The Home Builders Federation is also on side with the government. Chairman Stewart Baseley said: “The white paper recognises that the private sector house building industry is key to addressing the chronic housing shortage we face and outlines steps to assist it deliver more homes. The industry is a major part of the solution and is committed to continued growth. Huge progress has been made in recent years in terms of increasing housing supply. If we are to build more homes and meet the country’s acute needs, all parties involved in housing supply must up their game.

“The industry is determined to meet the challenges laid down by government and help deliver more homes more quickly. We will look to work with government on the detail of the measures announced today to ensure they will lead to many more new homes being built in the coming years.

“Plans to speed up the planning process, bring forward more developable land and make local authorities abide by their responsibilities are key. If we are to build more homes, we need more land coming through the system more quickly. Measures that will allow SME builders to build more homes will increase the capacity of the industry and result in increases in overall supply.”

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