Reducing planning risk by making decisions more predictable and quicker would benefit SME housebuilders, the House of Lord’s built environment committee has concluded. In its Meeting Housing Demand report released this week the committee has urged councils to support SME builders by creating a speedy planning process. “The government should work with local planning authorities to create a fast-track planning process for SMEs,” said the report. It recommends a ‘master developer’ model, where larger sites are built by different housebuilders [...]

Artificial intelligence should be harnessed to work out biodiversity net gain for sites of 50 homes or less, urges the National Federation of Builders, NFB. The call follows the government’s consultation released today on restoring ecological loss during housing construction and delivering a ten per cent boost on biodiversity post-development. NFB head of housing and planning Rico Wojtulewicz said: “On small sites of up to 50 homes, we need an automated calculation process which takes into account local species and [...]

More than nine out of ten smaller housebuilders have said planning is the biggest obstacle to increasing their housing delivery, according to a survey out this week. Respondents expect planning delays to get worse in 2022 in many parts of the UK because of local elections for all the London boroughs, Scottish and Welsh authorities in May. Homebuilders Federation, HBF, executive chairman Stewart Baseley said: “SMEs are literally having to put their businesses on hold whilst local authorities delay the [...]

A technical consultation on offering all new homes access to high-speed wi-fi has been announced by the government. Currently, more than two-thirds of premises have access to gigabit-capable networks, up from one in ten back in 2019 with the government aiming for a minimum of 85 per cent. Media, data and digital infrastructure minister Julia Lopez said: “There are still a significant number of house buyers who miss out on getting the best connectivity in their new homes and therefore [...]

Developers who fail to resolve snagging problems on new homes could see themselves struck off the New Homes Quality Board, NHQB, register. The board has released a new housebuilders code banning high-pressure selling, requiring an after-sale ‘cooling off’ period and protecting the buyer for up to two years after purchase. MP and NHQB chair Natalie Elphicke said the code, which has been five years in the making, would be central to driving up new homes’ standards. “It fills the gaps [...]

Supply chain problems are expected to resurface in the New Year due to Omicron’s effect on production and operations, the Construction Leadership Council, CLC, has warned. The CLC fears SME builders working on improvements, domestic repair and maintenance where clients want price certainty will be most affected. In a joint statement Builders Merchants Federation chief executive John Newcomb and Construction Products Association chief executive Peter Caplehorn said: “It is essential to maintain open lines of communication throughout the supply chain. [...]

All new buildings must reduce their greenhouse gases by nearly a third under new building regulations which will come into force in June. Under the rules, carbon emissions from new build homes must be 30 per cent lower than current standards and other new buildings such as offices and shops must be 27 per cent lower. Housing minister Eddie Hughes said the regulations were an important step towards 2025’s future homes and building standards where all new homes must be [...]

A third of firms to join the Construction Leadership Council’s, CLC, latest round of net-zero champions are SMEs. These include Benfield Timber Buildings who supply timber frames for housebuilders, solar panel and battery supplier EvoEnergy and Zed pods which builds micro-homes above car parks. CLC co-chair Andy Mitchell said: “The power of the CLC comes from its ability to reflect and engage with the whole industry. CO2nstruct Zero has provided a standard for the whole industry to get behind.” The [...]

Major housebuilding projects in the capital are at risk if the government fails to put Transport for London, TfL, on sustainable footing within the next five days, claims Mayor Sadiq Khan. Mr Khan warned thousands of new homes might not be built if the government was unable to agree on TfL’s short-term funding deal by the end of the week. “Failing to adequately fund TfL is a dereliction of the government’s duty to our capital city, the people of London [...]

Construction firms’ activity bounced back in November thanks to the UK economy reopening and a smoother supply chain, according to Purchasing Managers’ Index, PMI. The index was up at 55.5 for the month compared with 54.6 in October pointing to the strongest point of expansion since July and the tenth consecutive month above the 50 no change level. Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply group director Duncan Brock said: "Commercial orders were the strongest, picking up the slack from the [...]