In a bold move aimed at addressing the ongoing housing crisis, government ministers have announced a series of planning reforms designed to accelerate housing development across Britain. The measures, which were unveiled last month, aim to significantly increase the number of new homes built each year to 370,000. This is an increase from the previous Conservative governments goal of 300,000 a year.

Mandatory Housing Development Targets:

With a long-term objective of delivering 1.5 million new homes by 2029, the new guidelines see a reintroduction of mandatory housing targets for English councils. This announcement reverses the decision of the former conservative government to make housing targets advisory for all councils. This change is expected to hold local authorities accountable for meeting their housing needs and encourage them to prioritise development.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner announced that the ‘out-of-date housing targets’ will be recalculated to ensure that homes are built in the right places and that councils are driving development in areas most in need.  The minister also made it clear that she will not hesitate to use her powers of intervention where local authorities fall behind on targets and have out of date plans. This includes making it easier to build on certain areas of ‘grey belt’ that surround bigger cities and reconsider ‘green belt’ areas in situations where councils cannot meet their targets through other means.

Challenges Ahead:

The governments ambitious plan may face challenges due to external factors that could impact the delivery of housing development targets. Recent years have seen significant supply chain issues affecting building materials such as bricks, blocks, and timber, which have constrained the construction of new dwellings in the UK. Without a strategy to mitigate these issues and address the rising costs of materials, delays in development and unmet targets are likely to continue.

As the industry transitions to the Future Homes Standard expected in 2025 where the installation of heat pumps, PV and other specialist technologies will be the norm, there is pressing need for a skilled workforce to meet the installation demand. Without sufficient skilled labour, further disruptions and delays in new house completions are likely.

Elmhurst Thoughts:

While the announcement of increased new build development is welcomed, particularly for the demand for Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) calculations and Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) production work for assessors, it is important for the government to address the challenges faced by builders to ensure the successful implementation of housing development targets.

Further Resources:

Government Press Release: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/housing-targets-increased-to-get-britain-building-again