Plans for 300,000 new social and affordable homes over the next decade will generate a pipeline of work for SME housebuilders and contractors, claims the industry. Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has said 60 per cent of the £39bnpledged for affordable housing should be spent on building 180,000 new homes where rent is linked to local income. “With investment and reform, this government is delivering the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation, unleashing a social rent [...]

Robots capable of laying bricks five times faster than a skilled human could help the UK reach the ambitious target of building 1.5m new homes by 2029. Start-up developer JT Lifestyle Homes has used WLTR computerised brick-laying machines to help build 27 new homes in Durham as well as warehouses, offices and retail units. JT Lifestyle Homesfounder Dr Jan Telensky said: “As well as building faster, intelligent monitoring means the robot’s bricks are laid with ultimate precision, which will enhance [...]

Smaller builders are optimistic Homes England’s new national housing bank will give them a bigger slice of the development action. The new bank will issue government guarantees directly for loans to develop land which should help smaller builders with upfront infrastructure costs. National Federation of Builders, NFB, policy and market insight head Rico Wojtulewicz said: “For example, water companies often levy charges to fund upgrades to their network and treatment facilities for new housing.” The loan guarantees could help withex-industrial [...]

Housebuilders are calling for a ‘cap’ on the grid connection and infrastructure costs when it becomes mandatory for new homes to have solar panels in 2027. Extra estimated costs per new home will be upwards of £4,000 with this rising if grid reinforcements are needed such as installing a new £50,000 substation to cope with higher electricity demand. They are worried grid connections could be delayed due to insufficient infrastructure to cope with new electrified homes. The National Federation of [...]

Standardisinginfrastructure agreements and employing more planning officerswould speed updelivery of thousands of housing projects currently delayed, claims the Homebuilders Federation, HBF. A freedom of information request showed theaverage time to finalise S106 agreements,where developers contribute to new roads, affordable housing and schools, has increased by 20 per cent. In 2022-3 the average time was 425 days compared with 515 days in 2024-25 – adding 16months to the planning process. HBF chief executive Neil Jefferson said: “While these delays affect developments [...]

Simplifying planning with a new ‘medium’ sized definition for sites of ten to 49 homeswill enable SMEs to be major players in delivering 1.5m new homes, asserts the construction industry. A new government working paper on reforming site thresholds suggestssuch sites be exempt from the building safety levy and benefit from simpler biodiversity net gain rules. Deputy prime minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner said smaller housebuilders were key to helping the government reach its target of 1.5m new homes [...]

Standardisinginfrastructure agreements and employing more planning officerswould speed updelivery of thousands of housing projects currently delayed, claims the Homebuilders Federation, HBF. A freedom of information request showed theaverage time to finalise S106 agreements,where developers contribute to new roads, affordable housing and schools, has increased by 20 per cent. In 2022-3 the average time was 425 days compared with 515 days in 2024-25 – adding 16months to the planning process. HBF chief executive Neil Jefferson said: “While these delays affect developments [...]

Small sites are important for local economies On the eve of the local elections for four new regional metro mayors the housebuilding industry is pressing the successful candidates to boost housing delivery. Ambitious targets for small sites needed Metro mayors should use their powers to buy land for housing Mayors should ensure colleges offer targeted skills in construction England’s four new metro mayorsare being urged to use new powers ahead of schedule to help address the housing crisis by the [...]