Commenting today on the Government’s announcement of the new Planning Policy Statement 3: Planning for Housing (PPS3), HBF Executive Chairman Stewart Baseley says:
“The new PPS3 represents a major commitment on the part of Government to delivering the improved supply of new homes our country so badly needs.
“We particularly welcome PPS3’s emphasis on identifying sufficient developable land to meet future housing requirements. The lack of a reliable forward land supply is the biggest single issue facing the industry. Ensuring sufficient developable land comes through the planning system is the key to consistently delivering the full range of housing our society wants. It is also crucial if we are to create a climate in which the industry can invest in further improvements in quality and design – as both we and the Government wish to see.
“We also welcome the flexibility envisaged on other aspects of policy, including density and car parking. Many communities have argued that there needs to be reasonable flexibility for them to adopt approaches on these issues that properly reflect their local context. This is important if development is to be acceptable to local people and sustainable for the future.
“On the other hand, PPS3 sets out a very wide range of policy objectives and we remain concerned that, in seeking to balance and pursue all these requirements, housing delivery could still be frustrated. It is vital therefore that there is active monitoring and assessment of the new policy to ensure that it does actually deliver what we all want to see. We shall be pressing the Government to give full attention to the effective monitoring of the new policy.”
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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.
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 506378
paul.boulter@portlandpr.co.uk