Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves’ pledge to reform planning and bring back mandatory local authority housing delivery targets has received the thumbs up from housebuilders. Ms Reeves Mais described the planning system as “the single greatest obstacle” to the UK’s economic success. “Planning dysfunction means that land is costly and inefficiently utilised, making the cost of building infrastructure in the UK significantly higher than in most developed economies, meaning higher energy prices, poorer transport, and inadequate digital connectivity,” she told an [...]

The number of sites that gained planning permission in 2023 dropped to the lowest level for a 12-month period since The Housing Pipeline Report  began in 2006. The 10,527 sites were granted permission in 2023 - a 16 per cent decrease on 2022 and a 23 per cent fall on 2021. The volume is about half the average annual permissions granted between 2015 and 2019, according to the report by market intelligence consultancy Glenigan for the Home Builders Federation, HBF. [...]

Biodiversity rules pushing small housebuilders over the edge Just three weeks into new rules on improving biodiversity uplifts on new housing schemes SME developers are facing a barrage of difficulties and extra costs. These include councils’ inflexibility to consider more than one biodiversity option in section 106 agreements and pushing up costs to the extent that offering affordable housing is no longer viable. National Federation of Builders, NFB, policy and market insight head Rico Wojtulewicz said: “At the moment we [...]

Stamp duty rebates for buyers who make their homes more energy efficient and for pensioners downsizing are among the tax breaks the property industry would like in the forthcoming budget. The National Federation of Builders, NFB, wants a stamp duty rebate given to homeowners who improve the energy performance ratings of their place to ‘C’ or above within two years of purchase. They also want the tax to be scrapped for new build homes with ‘A’ grade efficiency ratings. NFB [...]

Michael Gove has come under criticism for putting pressure on London and 19 other major cities to build more homes on brownfield land. The building industry has claimed the housing and levelling up secretary’s latest consultation is a political move to avoid pressure to build on the greenbelt. National Federation of Builders, NFB, chief executive Richard Beresford said: “There isn’t enough brownfield land to get close to solving the housing crisis.” The Federation of Master Builders, FMB, added that the [...]

Depoliticising planning and offering more help for first-time buyers would speed up housebuilding according to SME developers’ comments in a recent study. More than 90 per cent of the 303 respondents cited planning permission delays as a major growth barrier in the Homebuilders Federation’s fourth annual  State of Play survey. SMEs would like to see local councils’ planning committees replaced by an independent body of trained planning experts with residents’ input at the local plan state. Homebuilders Federation executive chairman [...]

More young people look set to live with their parents as buying a home becomes increasingly expensive, the government’s housing accelerator Homes England has warned. Office of National Statistics has revealed the cost of a home is rising quicker than earnings with affordability ratios increasing from 4.92 in 2002 to 8.28 in 2022. “Many young people cannot afford to buy homes in their local communities where they have grown-up, due to worsening affordability,” Homes England said in its latest factsheet [...]

More than half of SME builders reported the planning system as their biggest barrier to delivering new homes, according to the Federation of Master Builders, FMB, annual survey. Respondents cited ‘inadequate resourcing’ of planning departments as the main reason for delays in applications followed by poor communication. FMB chief executive Brian Berry said: “For small builders, the survey is clear that the system is too complex and costly. Communication from local planning authorities is also poor. Without changing this, planning [...]

Deloitte’s latest London office crane survey sees the highest volume of new offices being built since 2005 the study was extended to cover seven central London areas. Currently, 124 schemes are under construction totalling more than 15m square feet in volume in the West End, Midtown, Southbank, Docklands, Kings Cross and Paddington with The City leading the way. Deloitte real assets advisory director Sophie Allan said: “New builds have roared back from their post-pandemic nadir, which has likely been driven [...]