With the publication of the much speculated Housing White Paper today, the industry has been mostly positive and keen to give their views on a number of proposals that were included, such as plans to promote modern methods of construction, help smaller builders get into the market, use land more efficiently and amend planning rules so councils can plan for more build-to-rent housing.
Phil Wade, operations director, for mixed-use developer First Base, said he was encouraged by the expected push towards offsite construction.
“We are fully behind the government’s drive to encourage the construction of modular homes,” he said. “If you look at how car manufacturing has advanced since the 1950s, it is startling how little innovation we have seen in construction. There is a lingering misperception that modular equates to makeshift. The challenge is to find new efficient ways to build, without compromising on quality.”
The Home Builders Federation welcomed the paper, but urged caution over new plans to increase the speed of development after planning permission is granted.
“Any sensible measure should not have an adverse impact on builders,” it said. “Having spent considerable time, resource and money progressing sites through the planning system, once builders have an ‘implementable’ permission (one that allows them to start work) overwhelmingly they are doing so.”
The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) welcomed measures to increase opportunities for SME house builders but maintained that land, along with finance and planning, remains an issue for small builders.
Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB, said: “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 housebuilding industry and an unresponsive supply of housing – this has to end.”
Mark Dickinson, managing director of London based property developer Anthology, welcomes the government’s focus on modern methods of construction, however he maintained some hesitancy, he also welcomed the relaxation or streaming of planning processes.
“The government’s focus on modern methods of construction such as offsite construction; efficiencies in the supply chain are paramount to the success of the industry. However, we absolutely must not repeat the mistakes of previous decades; we need to ensure that homes do not become homogenised and boring.
He added: “Anything that removes doubt about planning outcomes must help to encourage future investment and the construction of much needed new homes. However, keeping the local community front of mind is key to long-term success, we need to ensure that a gung-ho approach is avoided and communities are engaged throughout the process.”
RIBA president-elect Ben Derbyshire commended the government for requiring increased openness from developers.
He said: “The shortage of developable sites available to buy for new entrants to the markets remains one of the biggest barriers to development. It hits small developers particularly hard and is pushing the price of land up to stratospheric levels. If the government finds evidence that developers are deliberately stockpiling land or delaying build out rates then we hope this will be taken seriously.”
David Hawkes, CIOB policy manager, said: “Something needs to fundamentally change if we are to properly address the housing crisis. Alongside its greater support for modern methods of construction, the government is right to challenge house builders to meet their end of the bargain and train more staff.
“This should be at all levels – management professionals in construction have a high degree of influence over the productivity of a project and so investing in higher level skills can see big benefits.
“We also need to join up thinking across government, for example investing in innovation and modern methods of construction through the National Productivity Investment Fund that was announced in the Autumn Statement.”
