By Neil Turner, Director, Howarth Litchfield
Another year beckons and the promise of a general election (at some time) during the year. I thought it would be interesting to think of what manifesto – in a non-political manner – would aid the construction and architecture industry.
I never envy those in power as there are always several sides to an argument and different perspectives on polices, ideas and ideologies. So here are my thoughts on how we can stimulate growth.
Remove VAT on listed building projects. – we need to help the majority of owners or custodians of our building heritage. There are 500,000 listed buildings in the UK. This move would encourage people to buy or develop older buildings, rather than being put off. Developing our existing building stock is also sustainable and uses less embodied energy than constructing new buildings.
Incentives for the introduction of green technologies – Recent Building regulations and planning officers now look for sustainable improvement on energy use and energy generation. However, we should go further with incentives and tax breaks. Developing new buildings is not cheap, so let’s help with financial incentives that encourage everyone to be green, which will benefit them in the pocket – from domestic tax breaks on PV, heat pumps and insulation through to company tax breaks on energy generation and use would help focus our minds on moving to a greener economy.
Make the planning process simpler and more affordable – reduce the amount of specialist reports required to accompany applications which only add to the time and cost for clients. This will encourage more development by reducing the financial burden at an early stage (and the risk) to clients, developers and contractors. The cost of applications can be excessive and act as a disincentive: there has to be a middle ground that is appropriate.
Stress the importance of good design for planning applications – good architecture should be at the centre of planning and not an afterthought. I would like to see more design review panels assessing proposals so that independent panels can advise local authorities on the merits or otherwise of a scheme.
Review the definitions of green belt and brown belt and be brave in allowing sensible, well considered development. That could be new housing or commercial/industrial in areas where it is needed. In the North East we have some beautiful countryside but that doesn’t stop the need or desire for new business to set up in certain locations. Clearly, we should look to re-use former industrial land first, but in a large diverse region, we need to see development opportunities in the market towns as well as the main cities.
Landscaping – just like the architecture, the areas around a development should be green and healthy, to make us all feel better and enjoy the placing of buildings in their development settings. New biodiversity rules have been introduced for 2024 and we don’t know the impact of these rules yet , other than more cost on development. I can see the rules being changed again before an election, when the true costs become apparent.
Funding for NHS and local authorities – I would like to see improved and more focused development budgets in the regions to allow for more development of doctors’ surgeries, schools and services, specific to the North East. Each part of the country has its challenges and I should like to see more collaborative working between various local authorities (in this region) as they imaginatively put together development ideas, strategies and plans that need investment. Give our local authorities the chance to improve our services with the right direct funding.
I am sure the list could go on and on. Designing buildings in 2024 will still be fascinating as we work to the latest guidelines and impact of legislation (most recently the Building Safety Act of 2023) and look forward to helping our clients with the appropriate solutions and ideas.
Neil Turner, Director, Howarth Litchfield can be contacted on 0191 3849470 or email n.turner@hlpuk.com
www.howarthlitchfield.com
