We reported yesterday that the government is looking at ways to make life easier for smaller housebuilders, and the plans have gone down well with the intended beneficiaries.
The government has announced a package of proposals to directly help small and medium sized builders (SMEs). They include a ‘medium’ sized site definition to enable more proportionate planning requirements, streamlined planning for ‘minor’ sized sites and more targeted support for access to land and finance.
Richard Beresford, chief executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said: “This is a huge win for the NFB. I am immensely proud of our housebuilding members and staff for never giving up on their campaign for a ‘medium’ sized site definition of between 10 and 49 homes.”
He said: “After we helped write the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the next logical step was a ‘medium’ sized definition to sit between minor, fewer than 10 homes, and major, 10 and above. We never expected it to take seven years of lobbying but are delighted that in less than 12 months, the Labour government understood that they could not help SMEs unless planning recognised their typical site size.
“Labour should be commended for understanding the benefits of this proposal, particularly after the Conservative government talked up their desire to help SMEs but did little to recognise their existence.”
The proposal includes:
• Faster decisions for small sites: Minor developments of up to nine homes will benefit from streamlined planning and eased biodiversity net gain (BNG) requirements, with decisions being taken by unelected planning officers, not elected councillors
• A new ‘medium site’ category: sites between 10 and 49 homes will face simpler rules and fewer costs – including a proposed exemption from the building safety levy and simplified BNG rules
• More land and financing options for SMEs: Homes England will release more of its land exclusively to SMEs, and a new national housing delivery fund to be confirmed at the spending review will support long-term finance options, such as revolving credit.
Consultations on the various proposals have now been published.
Rico Wojtulewicz, head of policy and market insight at both the NFB and the House Builders Association (HBA), said: “Planning reform isn’t just about permissions, it is about policy proportionality. A ‘Medium’ sized site helps rid us of the antiquated, SME-damaging, minor and major site size definitions and creates an environment where the government can help SMEs in practice.
“It is also fantastic to see ‘minor’ site reforms, land unlocking strategies and greater appreciation of AI and digital tool opportunities. The announced proposals should also ensure finance is also easier to access because whether private or government backed money, all of it still requires full planning to be drawn down.”
He continued: “The ‘medium’ sized site definition has been a seven-year HBA campaign and so we are often asked how it might help SMEs. For a start it establishes a mindset of understanding development impact, so that sites of ten homes are not treated the same as those delivering 100, 250, 500 or 1,000. This means brownfield, infill and sites within communities will have a potential policy lever and local plan allocations may finally recognise them as vital to meet mandatory targets.
“If implemented, it would make it far easier for local plans to allocate a percentage of sites as ‘up to medium sized’. We would propose 30%.
“Site size definitions also ensure that regulatory regimes such as the building safety levy (BSL), CIL, Section 106, planning conditions and statutory consultees, to name a few, have a site size threshold to operate more proportionately.
“Today is a win for strategic policy because SMEs build our council and self-build homes. [They] reduce reliance on immigration because they train the housebuilders, retrofitters and constructors of tomorrow. [They] provide the competition which ensures scandals do not take place, industry standards rise, and innovation becomes ubiquitous. And they spread the risk of failure for ambitious policy positions, such as the delivery of 1.5 million homes.”
The was a similar welcome from SME house-builders themselves.
Jon Di Stefano, chief executive of Greencore Homes, said: “Simplifying the planning process and introducing more targeted land and funding opportunities for SME housebuilders should have a transformative effect for housing delivery, not just in terms of volume but quality and sustainability too.
“As someone that has made the jump from a larger housebuilder to an SME [he was previously with Telford Homes], I have seen firsthand how attracting diversity of scale to the housebuilding industry creates more innovation and a broader mix of tenures. Like many smaller developers, Greencore wants to build more and we are passionate about increasing delivery of our low energy, low carbon homes which are quicker to build, healthier for people to live in and designed with nature and wildlife in mind.
“Unfortunately, delays in the planning process have slowed down how quickly we can deliver these homes to date. We fully support these measures that will unlock smaller sites and help SME housebuilders to flourish and play their part in increasing housing delivery to meet the government’s targets.”
Paul Rickard, chief executive of Pocket Living, said: “For the first time in many years, we’re seeing clear signals that an administration recognises the critical role SME housebuilders play in tackling the housing crisis. We’re delighted to see several of the recommendations we've worked with the government on reflected in today’s announcements. SMEs can be disproportionately affected by policy and support targeted specifically at SMEs will help to reverse the decline of our sector, help level the playing field, and once again make SMEs the backbone for high quality local housing delivery across the nation.”
However, the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) expressed fears that delegating planning to unelected town hall officials could undermine the integrity of the planning process with action being taken to strengthen professionalism.
Robbie Calvert, RTPI’s Head of Policy and Public Affairs, said: “The government’s proposed reforms have the potential to unlock thousands of homes on smaller sites and energise a part of the sector that plays a vital role in local economies.
“However, we must be clear, we can only support the proposed delegation reforms if they are accompanied by the establishment of a chief planning officer in every planning authority. These reforms propose a significant change to how our system works, and without strong, accountable leadership and oversight, risk undermining the integrity of the planning process.”
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