The new, Labour Government, is committed to delivering 1.5 million homes.
Chancellor, Rachel Reeves MP, announced plans to reintroduce mandatory, local housing targets and to reform the National Planning Policy Framework, consulting on a new, growth-focused approach to the planning system, including supporting local authorities with 300 additional planning officers across the country.
There will also be changes to the system itself and to the way ministers use powers for direct intervention.
The planning service has been the subject of much criticism. The National Planning Forum, together with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), is currently consulting on the matters required to address such criticism in relation to delay in the planning system.
It is essential, policies ensure the early delivery of housing affordability with planning and economic policies, create a stable and affordable market, avoiding unacceptably high house price inflation in many areas. The market is also showing the impact of housing shortage with the increase in rental where those, with a lower income, are finding it even harder to secure accommodation.
Change is essential and a national government policy, based on a 20-year strategy, is crucial to achieve a thriving and robust housing delivery programme of adequate numbers of a good qualitative standard, that meets social, environmental and cultural goals. Such a strategy delivered through the regions Combined Authorities would accelerate housing delivery, particularly for the much needed affordable and social housing.
Consideration has been given to industrialising the construction process, by building off site and timber frame. There are challenges with a volatile housing market that make investing in the innovation. A 20 year strategy should resolve these challenges and encourage investors.
Even so, investing in the training and skills for traditional construction, retrofit to improve sustainability and innovation styles of building is equally essential.
The proper and proportionate costs of development must be adopted in arriving at a fair price for the payment of land for development. Such costs for the improvement of infrastructure imposed by the development and the social infrastructure to support that development, such as schools and medical services, require payment from the development gain. Current examples for recovery of such costs from development gain are s106 agreements in planning for contributions including that for affordable and social homes, and/or Community Infrastructure Levy.
Some costs are relatively straight forward, others less so. The latter include planning design, content and density of development, with contributions for affordable and social housing, transport and highways, education and health, community, site services and utilities, remediation and below ground structures, including mines and minerals reservations.
These factors can also, delay or frustrate, delivery of development. To reduce risk, the RICS set up an expert working group, which I have the honour to chair, that has produced a Practice Statement for surveyors negotiating heads of terms for Land Agreements. These comprise, development agreements, option agreements to acquire development land or buildings. The intention is to reduce the considerable risk of delay and additional costs, by seeking to bring clarity to the process of the agreement of price for development land and buildings
Finally, a plea to all to consider the use of mediation as a method to resolve disputes at pace and keep matters moving. Mediation offers a flexible, low-cost approach. Whether in the planning system, between landowner and developer, during construction or in the management of the estate for service charges.
Kevan Carrick is co-founder of Newcastlebased, JK Property Consultants LLP.
He is a member of the RICS Land and Natural Resources Professional Group Panel and is chair of the expert working group preparing the Practice Statement for ‘Land agreements for development purposes’, soon to be published.
jkpropertyconsultants.com
