Planning reforms are key to fixing the housing
crisis, but more attention is needed on supporting local
authorities to improve their ability to respond to planning
demands, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) in
response to the ‘Planning
for the Future’ announcement made
today.
Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB,
said:
“The current planning system is a major barrier for
small house builders, so today’s announcement that it will be
brought into the 21st century through digitisation and
simplification is a victory for common sense. I’m pleased to
learn that the Secretary of State will engage particularly with
small to medium-sized (SME) house builders to ensure the new
system works for them. Key to increasing the volume and quality
of new homes coming through is reversing the decline in small
house builders.”
Berry continued:
“That the Government has also made the decision to
intervene in local authorities’ plan-making processes by setting
a 2023 deadline to update their local plans is helpful.
A recent Public Accounts Committee report found that fewer
than half of local authorities had an up-to-date local plan,
which goes to show that inaction is hampering housing
numbers.”
Berry concluded:
“More detail is needed in terms of how local authorities plan to
provide a good quality service to SMEs. While linking fees
to performance and offering rebates to developers is a step in
the right direction, local authorities need support to get the
basics right. That means a dedicated phone number where house
builders can get through to someone, the ability to arrange
meetings that don’t cost an arm and a leg, and regular,
good-quality communication. The FMB stands ready to support this
review and reform process.”
Key statistics
- 42% of SME house builders reported that the
planning process was the single biggest obstacle to them building
more homes
- For the fourth year in a row SMEs cited inadequate
resourcing of planning departments as the most significant cause
of delay in the planning process
- Excessive information requirements are the biggest
cause of cost for SMEs
- When asked whether they had seen an improvement in
the speed and delivery of local planning departments since
fees were increased by 20% in 2018, only 3% of SMEs said
yes
- In the 1980s SMEs built two thirds of all new
homes, now it is just 23%
