The number of new home being built in England is increasing but builders say they are often being held up by planning conditions, especially on smaller development sites.
The data from the latest housing pipeline report from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) and Glenigan shows that permissions for 76,242 homes were granted in England in the third quarter of 2016.
The figures also show that the total number for the 12 months to September reached 289,011, the highest since the survey began in 2006. However, the number of actual sites these permissions are on dropped.
According to the report local authorities are granting permission for an increasing number of large strategic sites as opposed to the mix of size and type of site needed to deliver more homes.
While the increase is encouraging, the report says that permissions often have dozens of ‘pre commencement’ conditions attached and so builders will not legally be entitled to commence construction until they are all discharged and this is a process which can take some months and is dependent on the ability and capacity of the authority to provide this service.
The HBF has welcomed the Government’s efforts through the Neighbourhood Planning Bill to introduce a new process for agreeing pre-commencement conditions but has urged ministers to go further in limiting the number of conditions and preventing authorities from imposing spurious conditions that could be dealt with later in the construction process so that builders can get onto sites with a ‘permission’ more quickly.
It says that many conditions, such as the Local Authority needing to approve a final children’s play area design, should not be holding up building work and could be agreed once work is underway through the imposition of a ‘pre-occupation’ condition.
Information collected by the HBF shows how authorities are holding up construction with demands for scale drawings of the placement of picnic tables and refuse bins in children’s play areas and detailed statements on the ‘engagement and recruitment of local artists’ to provide public art on the new estate.
The HBF has proposed that a range of site sizes and types are allocated by local authorities. Councils should not rely on one large site to meet their local housing needs as they inevitable take longer to build as they will likely have greater infrastructure requirements.
Whilst housing supply is up 52% in the past three years the report points out that there are still not enough homes being built to adequately cater for demand and the planning system remains one of the major constraints on supply.
Speeding up the rate at which builders get onto sites, and ensuring local authorities abide by their responsibilities and allocate sites that meet their local housing needs are key requirements if the house building industry is to deliver much needed housing, the report points out.
‘The house building industry is committed to building more homes but can only do so if it has the land on which to build them. It is encouraging that so many headline planning permissions are being granted but we simply have to find a way to unblock the system and reduce the time it takes to get a permission to the stage where builders can actually start building,’ said Stewart Baseley, HBF executive chairman.
‘Construction work shouldn’t be held up by council officers getting round to approving designs for landscaping, playgrounds or ensuring developers are liaising with community artists. These could be agreed whilst infrastructure work gets started,’ he explained.
‘Our housing crisis is too serious a threat to our future for everyone not to be pulling in the same direction. House builders are keen to increase output further but all parties need to work together if we are going to solve our housing shortage,’ he added.
Allan Wilén, economics director at Glenigan, pointed out that the 10% rise in the number of units approved during the third quarter of 2016 was driven by an increase in private housing.
‘The rise demonstrates that housebuilders remain confident about market prospects for the year ahead with a firm development pipeline ensuring that house builders are well placed to meet demand,’ he added.
