In his speech yesterday, Keir Starmer outlined his ‘Plan For Change’, which included a declaration that the country would now be entering a “golden age of building.”
He doubled down on his commitment to building 1.5m homes and said he would fast-track 150 infrastructure projects.
He wrote in the Times that, “Britain is in the grip of the worst housing crisis in living memory. For too long, the country has been held to ransom by the blockers and bureaucrats who have stopped the country building, choked off growth and driven prices through the roof.”
This ‘war on nimbys’ also comes with a swipe at environmentalists, who have blocked development. His reforms will dismantle complex environmental regulations and free up approvals for building. Developers will be able to offset environmental impact by funding broader environmental improvements.
Here, Craig Carson, Managing Director at Barratt West London, gives his thoughts on what effect Starmer’s plans will have on London:
The policies
“The Government has inherited a difficult environment from its predecessors.
It has a challenge on its hands to even begin to tackle London’s housing shortage, with a target of 80,000 new homes per year in the capital alone.
This is clearly an ambitious target but demonstrates a shared vision between Government and housebuilders alike that we absolutely must build more homes.
Not only does the Government need to introduce measures that keep the homebuying and selling market moving, it needs to support housebuilders from the very beginning.
The National Planning Policy Framework and new towns funding are two immediate positive introductions from the Government.
Housebuilding is clearly central to the Government’s plans, with a recognition of both the social benefits and economic growth potential by increasing the country’s housing output.
There has also been much discussion around the elusive grey-belt and how this could unlock swathes of land, alongside reforms to the London Plan next year.
I would like to see Labour define exactly what this is at both a Government and GLA level, and work with housebuilders on planning reforms to transform currently disused areas for the benefit of whole communities.”
The market outlook
“There is a cautiously optimistic view as we head into 2025. London’s market has unique challenges due to its property prices and demand for new homes.
The market will also suffer when stamp duty thresholds change next year, with the average first time buyer in London required to pay an additional £11,000 on stamp duty costs alone.
We have evolved to address some of these challenges and introduced our own schemes to support buyers in the absence of a formalised scheme – whether this is offering deposit contributions to key workers, reduced mortgage rates via our Own New scheme, or other low-deposit solutions such as Deposit Unlock.”
The skills gap
“The ever-growing skills gap is a ticking time bomb in the construction sector, and whilst we absolutely need more skilled tradespeople to help build the 1.5m homes planned by Labour, we will struggle to build anywhere near this number unless employment figures drastically increase within planning offices.
It is positive that the Government has announced funding for 300 additional planning roles, which are seldom part of the discussion, however, in practice this will barely scratch the surface of the true deficit.
We also must consider the time it will take to train planning graduates. It takes around two years to train a graduate in housebuilding, and assuming aspiring planners follow the same pathway, this will not be an overnight fix.
There is already a backlog of applications, and a drive to boost housing deliver will further exacerbate the problem.”
The planning
“The layering of planning policy in London also doesn’t help, with planning officers at both local and regional levels often supporting the same applications.
Greater collaboration across the Greater London Authority (GLA) and the Local Authority will allow for the accurate determination of applications referable to each Authority and free up time accordingly. This will allow more flexibility to apply resources across London where the need is greatest.
Other long-term solutions include the National Planning Policy Framework, which will naturally take some time to translate into Local Plans, and the introduction of both the grey belt and additional funding for new towns.
These are all positive actions to support long-term housing delivery across the country.
In the immediate future, mandatory housing targets will have a significant and indeed quicker impact, and I suspect we will see this play out early next year across each of London’s boroughs, alongside the rest of the country.
However, this may lead to pressure on The Planning Inspectorate (PINS) with Local Authorities not resourced to deal with the likely influx in applications following the National Planning Policy Framework changes.
Applicants may pursue aggressive planning strategies involving a quick pre-application process with an appeal for non-determination if no decision is given at 13 or 16 weeks.”
