Unclear how proposed changes will work
The building industry has described reforms to planning as a step in the right direction but lack of dedicated small sites for development and planning fee increases still pose major challenges for SME housebuilders.
- Smaller sites should be included in local housing plans
- Statutory consultees scope to be curtailed
- Judicial reviews to be streamlined
Planning reforms leave SME housebuilders out of the picture
Builders won’t be getting ‘shovels in the ground quicker’ to build 1.5m homes in Britain without making it easier for SME housebuilders to thrive, claim key figures in the building industry.
The National Federation of Builders, NFB, has described the government’s planning and infrastructure bill as a positive step forward but argues it may incur more delays.
NFB policy head Rico Wojtulewicz said: “The bill delivers important changes, but it isn’t fixing the planning process. There is a danger that the changes limit SME opportunity and growth.”
The NFB is critical that only larger sites are to belooked at as areas suitable for housing in authorities’ special development strategies designed to ensure building meets local needs.
“There should be some limits to site sizes so that they include ones of up to 100 homes which would give SMEs a bite at the cherry.
“Smaller sites can be developed much more quickly making an important contribution to an authority reaching its housing target,” said Mr Wojtulewicz.
Federation of Master Builders, FMB, chief executive Brian Berry said: “Small builders across the UK stand ready to play their part in delivering the homes we need, but time and time again we’ve seen barriers keeping them out of the market.”
He agreed that a bureaucratic planning system and lack of viable and available land for SME housebuilders to develop was a major barrier for his members.
Unclear how proposed changes will work
Home Builders Federation chief executive Neil Jefferson said: “Removing blockages, speeding up the decision-making process and ensuring local planning departments have the capacity to process applications effectively will be essential to getting more sites up and running.”
Mr Wojtulewicz warned it was still unclear how limiting the scope of statutory consultees, such as Environment Agency or Natural England, would speed up the planning process.
However, streamlining judicial reviews by removing the paper permission stage and giving hopeless challenges just one attempt to contest a development consent orderwere welcomed.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, RCIS,senior specialist onland andresourcesTony Mulhall said:“Retaining important judicial reviews while limiting the scope for vexatious delays is a proportionate response. This together with an overall reduction in bureaucracy will prove crucial for getting more building projects off the ground.”
Judicial reviews typically cost £30,000 and are seen as one of the reasons why building contractors in the UK typically make lower profits than their European counterparts.
However, the move to allow local authorities to set planning fees is regarded as a risk that charges will go up.
“This will make it more expensive and difficult to get a planning application over the line. It will make it easier for the bigger companies at the expense of SMEs who we will see leaving the sector,” said Mr Wojtulewicz.
Brokers Hank Zarihs Associates said development finance lenders wanted a cap on planning fees otherwise they would prove a barrier to building in areas where councils fees were high.
FMB figures show SMEs built 40 per cent of new homes in the 1980scompared to 10 per cent now.
LinkedIn Question: How important is it that local authorities’ local plans for areas designated for housing include small sites?
