The HBF has today welcomed the package of proposals set out by Kate Barker in her final report on the Land Use Planning System in England as a balanced and positive approach to achieving sustainable development.
Commenting on the report's recommendations, HBF Executive Chairman Stewart Baseley says:
"We strongly welcome many of Kate Barker's final proposals.”
“The HBF has consistently highlighted the difficulties faced by home builders in delivering the increase in the number of new homes that is necessary to meet our national requirements and build economically and socially successful communities.”
“The amount of land coming through the planning system annually for residential development has fallen by some 10% in recent years and the supply of new housing is as a result falling short of needs by some 50,000 each year.”
“We have also drawn attention in our own recent research to the need to improve the efficiency of certain aspects of the planning process so that developers can invest with greater certainty and deliver agreed housing schemes more quickly.”
“Kate Barker addresses all these issues and sets out a strategic vision of how we can create a simpler, more efficient and positive planning framework to bring forward desirable new development. We agree that planning has an important role to play and that it should be focused on facilitating outcomes that will enhance national welfare - including the realisation of major projects."
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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
On Monday 27 November 2006, HBF published new research showing that planning approval now averages nine months - three times longer than Government targets:
Local authorities take on average 248 days – nearly nine months – to issue planning approval after the submission of an application. The DCLG performance target for major applications is for 60% of applications to be determined in 91 days.
This process includes an average delay of 17 days between the submission of an application and registration. The statutory target is 24 hours.
It takes on average 475 days - over a year and three months – from the submission of an application to developers starting on site.
DCLG land use change statistics show that the total amount of land developed annually for housing in England fell by 10% between 1997 and 2003.
The extent of Britain’s housing undersupply:
The rate of household formation is set to increase by 23% over the next twenty years. If housing supply remains at 2005 levels, there will be a shortage of 50,000 homes each year across England (ODPM statistical release, household projection figures, 14 March 2006)
Accessibility to the housing ladder is 300% worse in 2006 than in 1996 (RICS Accessibility Index, 24 August 2006)
More than a third of all working households under 40 cannot now afford to buy a home even at the low end of the housing market. In the South of England, the situation is even worse, with half of all working households under 40 in this position (Joseph Rowntree Foundation research, 21 September 2006)
Seven out of ten of today’s ten year olds will not be able to afford to buy their own homes if current rates of homebuilding are continued (ODPM figures, 10 October 2005)
For media information, please contact:
Paul Boulter
0207 404 5344
07814 506 378
paul.boulter@portlandpr.co.uk