HBF gives industry response to proposed Planning Gain Supplement and draft Planning Policy Statement 3
The Home Builders Federation (HBF) has responded to two Government consultations on major housing policy issues: the proposed Planning Gain Supplement and draft Planning Policy Statement 3.
The consultations were announced by the Chancellor during his pre-Budget Report on 5 December 2005 as part of the Government’s response to the Barker Report.
Planning Gain Supplement (PGS)
The HBF fully accepts the need to fund and provide adequate infrastructure as well as the logic of raising part of the funding through the uplift of land value.
Highlighting significant reservations about a number of issues, the HBF believes that there is a considerable risk that the proposed scheme would fail to deliver the Government’s and industry’s shared objective of delivering more land for housing supply. It therefore opposes this proposal.
In raising these objections, the HBF is conscious that the current S106 system suffers from serious flaws. The HBF is therefore urging the Government to form a “coalition of the willing” to review the options for infrastructure funding and provision and design a workable solution.
Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3)
The HBF broadly welcomes the draft PPS3 which represents a move towards making the planning system more market responsive.
The Federation, however, has two major concerns that delivery may still be frustrated: the risk that local authorities may seek to prescribe size and type of open-market dwellings on all sites; and the need to look at new models for affordable housing provision - including a definition of affordable housing that will accommodate innovative industry practice and take account of housing market assessments.
The HBF is therefore calling for further discussions between central government, local government and the industry so that the final PPS3 can set out realistic and deliverable solutions.
Commenting on these submissions, Stewart Baseley, HBF’s Executive Chairman, says: “we welcome the Government’s determination to address important housing issues – with regards to both infrastructure provision and the reform of the planning system.
“The simple test for these proposals needs to be whether they will help alleviate Britain’s severe housing shortage by increasing the rate of house building and the land supply this requires. We have detailed a number of industry concerns and want to work with the Government over a further period of time to find practical and workable solutions.”
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The HBF’s full submissions to these consultations can be found on the Federation’s website on: www.hbf.co.uk
Notes for Editors
The Home Builders Federation (HBF) is the principal trade federation for private sector home builders and voice of the home building industry in England and Wales. The HBF’s 300 member firms account for over 80% of all new homes built in England and Wales in any one year, and include companies of all sizes, ranging from multi-national, household names through regionally based businesses to small local companies: www.hbf.co.uk
For media information, please contact:
Toby Orr
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07736 175311