{mosimage} A new report from the House of Lords Built Environment Select Committee Report outlines concerns that the short term approach to building new homes is being carried out at the expense of long term considerations, and criticises the removal of initiatives such as zero carbon homes.
It points out that the planning, design, management and maintenance of the built environment has a long term impact upon people and communities and that policy towards the built environment in England should not be the sole preserve of any one Government department.
‘There is an urgent need to co-ordinate and reconcile policy across numerous different areas and priorities. Recently, however, one priority has become dominant in debates concerning built environment policy. Increasing the overall supply of housing, and the speed at which housing is delivered, is a central part of the Government’s policy agenda,’ the report says.
‘When seen in the context of the housing crisis facing many communities across England, this is understandable and, overall, we welcome the Government focus on increasing and speeding up the supply of housing,’ it explains.
‘Restrictions on financial freedoms and flexibilities, however, pose a threat to the ability of local authorities to build houses of their own. The private sector, throughout the post-war period, has very rarely achieved the delivery of 200,000 homes a year. We do not believe the Government can deliver the step change required for housing supply without taking measures to allow local authorities and housing associations each to play their full part in delivering new homes,’ it adds.
The report also says that Government initiatives have so far failed to address a further part of the house building problem, which is the gap between planning permissions granted and new homes built.
‘We recommend measures intended to address this, and other, barriers to increasing the number of housing completions. More fundamentally, however, we are concerned that the overall emphasis on speed and quantity of housing supply appears to threaten place making itself, along with sustainable planning for the long-term and the delivery of high quality and design standards,’ the report says.
‘The Government is pursuing a deregulatory agenda as seen, for example, in the introduction of more flexible arrangements for office to residential conversions and the strong policy emphasis placed on the financial viability of new developments. These changes, however, have the cumulative effect of progressively diluting the capacity of local authorities to scrutinise new developments, to safeguard quality and sustainability and to ensure that proposals contribute to an overall and beneficial sense of place,’ it adds.
The report explains that this is compounded by the removal of national building standards, including the zero carbon homes requirement, which were intended to ensure that new developments are planned with long-term challenges and consequences in mind.
‘Speed need not come at the expense of quality, and a short-sighted approach runs the risk of repeating the mistakes of the past. Buildings should be built to last, and to stand the test of time. We recommend a range of measures which are intended to create better places, promote design quality and enhance the resilience and sustainability of new developments,’ the report continues.
‘We believe it is important that the Government sets high standards for the built environment, and provides the vision, aspiration and leadership to encourage others to deliver against those standards. As a nation, our aspirations for the quality of the built environment have been routinely too low. Only the Government can set a more ambitious national path, and we urge this one to do so,’ it adds.
The report recommends that this should begin with much better coordination of policy across the various Government departments that have an impact upon the built environment and calls for the appointment of a Chief Built Environment Adviser, appointed to integrate policy across central Government departments, to act as a champion for higher standards and to promote good practice.
It also says local authority planning departments have been diminished by funding cuts, leading to a loss in capacity and skills yet they need to play a key role in establishing an ambitious ‘vision’ for their area, and that the capacity to plan proactively and engage with communities is vital in delivering this vision.
It suggests that the planning profession needs to regain the status and prestige it deserves and recommends measures intended to address funding, promote skills and raise capacity, and to promote the concept of proactive planning at the local level.
The British Property Federation has similarly criticised the Government for the lack of clarity surrounding carbon regulation, following the scrapping of policies such as allowable solutions and the removal of the zero carbon target.
The BPF has welcomed the report’s recognition of the fact that there needs to be a diverse supply base in order to deliver a sufficient amount of new homes, but was disappointed to see that it has not better recognised the contribution of build to rent.
In its evidence to the committee, the BPF highlighted the role that build to rent can play in creating high quality places that people want to work and live, offering density, affordability and high quality homes, that come with long-term investment.
‘The report is right to highlight the need to future-proof the creation of new homes and communities, and to warn against taking a short-term approach to delivery. Although there is a pressing need to deliver new homes, this must not be done at the expense of quality and great place making. Policies such as the removal of the zero carbon target by the Government have been concerning, and it is of vital importance that we consider future generations when creating new places,’ said Melanie Leech, BPF chief executive.
‘It was perhaps an oversight that the report did not put more emphasis on build to rent, and the role it can play in supporting changing demographics and contributing to communities, but there was a lot to cover and the current inquiry by the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee is focusing far more on the Private Rented Sector,’ she added.
Small local house builders are best placed to ensure that increasing the quantity of homes does not reduce the quality of homes, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).
‘The Committee is right to focus on the quality of housing as any dropping of standards in order to boost completions will serve to store up problems for the future. However, to suggest that achieving numbers might come at the cost of quality is creating a false dichotomy. In particular, the Committee has misunderstood the impetus behind calls for planning reform,’ said Brian Berry, FMB chief executive.
He pointed out that small house builders have been pressing for a speedier planning system, not because it will allow them to build to a lower spec, but because the current system is ill-suited for building high quality homes on the required scale to address the housing shortage.
‘Local developers deliver houses that have a very high satisfaction rate among home owners. What builders need is a planning system that is far quicker and easier to navigate and is an enabler of housing delivery, not a drag on it,’ he explained.
‘Looking at some of the other recommendations, we’re pleased that the Lords Committee recognises the importance of SME house builders and we agree that the Government must reconsider its position on retrofitting our existing homes. In particular, we back their call for the introduction of a Chief Built Environment Advisor,’ said Berry.
He also pointed out that the role of Chief Construction Adviser existed until the end of last year but was scrapped by the Government as part of its efficiency savings. ‘As construction, housing and infrastructure cut across so many different government departments, it’s useful to have a dynamic individual in place who can ensure there is greater co-ordination in Whitehall and who can act as a genuine champion for creating a quality built environment,’ he added.
‘The Government needs to work with the Lords and with industry to develop these recommendations in a way that allows us to tackle one of the greatest political challenges of our time,’ he concluded.
