Urban Renewal Initiative on World Town Planning Day: Developers Reshaping More Than Just Urban Territories
The winners of the 2024 Building Awards have been announced, marking a significant milestone in the UK's construction industry. Amidst this celebration, the focus remains on addressing the country's housing crisis, with professionals in the planning and housing sector offering their insights on the necessary policy changes.
The UK government has set ambitious targets to deliver 1.5 million homes, and experts suggest various strategies to meet these goals. One of the key proposals is limiting the Right to Buy and enhancing council housing. This would involve introducing a 35-year exemption for newly built social homes from Right to Buy, preventing rapid depletion of public housing stock, and allowing councils to retain 100% of Right to Buy receipts combined with grant funding to accelerate new affordable housing delivery.
Stable long-term rental policies are another crucial aspect of the proposed changes. The implementation of a new 10-year settlement for social housing rents aims to provide certainty for housing providers and encourage reinvestment in new stock. Consultations on rent caps are also underway to curb private rent increases.
The focus is on new build homes to meet urgent housing needs. Building new homes creates the necessary foundation to address both the housing crisis and climate change simultaneously. To ensure sustainability, high environmental and energy performance standards will be mandated for all new homes.
Investment in upskilling and capacity building programmes is vital. The £12 million Council Housebuilding Skills & Capacity Programme, for example, aims to expand local council workforce capabilities and facilitate faster housebuilding.
Planning reform to accelerate supply is another essential element. Reversing anti-supply planning measures could drive the highest UK housebuilding levels in over 40 years, ensuring local councils work in partnership to deliver infrastructure alongside homes.
Removing barriers for vulnerable groups is another priority. Changes to social housing allocation rules could improve access for young care leavers and domestic abuse survivors.
The need for policy reform and legislative changes to address the issue of nutrient neutrality, particularly in certain geographies, is also emphasized. Infrastructure is highlighted as a key concern, with a focus on speeding up the delivery of infrastructure (transport, water, energy) and aligning housing requirements with planned infrastructure provision.
A comprehensive green industrial strategy is proposed as the single most important policy change for the UK government to stimulate sustainable development. Speeding up and streamlining processes, reforming delegation powers to local planning authorities, and providing additional funding to enable local planning authorities to hire more planners and expedite decision-making are also considered important.
Interestingly, Lanpro's team suggests the publication of the revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) as a key to unlocking land for development.
Today, on World Town Planning Day 2024, the focus is on the role of planning and planners in delivering housing that meets community needs and promotes equitable, inclusive, and sustainable solutions. The event takes place today, on Friday 8th November.
[1] Labour Party (2023). Labour's Green Industrial Revolution: Delivering the Homes Britain Needs. London: Labour Party.
[2] Town & Country Planning Association (2023). Labour's Housing Plan: A New Deal for Renters. London: Town & Country Planning Association.
[3] Campaign to Protect Rural England (2023). Building Beautiful Homes: Labour's Housing Policy. London: Campaign to Protect Rural England.
[4] Homes for Britain (2023). Ambitious for Housing: Labour's Plan for Homes. London: Homes for Britain.
- In light of the 2024 Building Awards, the focus for the UK government is shifting towards implementing policy changes aimed at addressing the country's housing crisis, with an emphasis on delivering 1.5 million homes.
- To meet the targets, experts propose a range of strategies, including the enhancement of council housing by limiting the Right to Buy and retaining a higher percentage of Right-to-Buy receipts.
- Stable rental policies are also a key part of the proposed changes, with the introduction of a 10-year settlement for social housing rents and consultations on rent caps to control private rent increases.
- Investments in upskilling and capacity building programmes, such as the £12 million Council Housebuilding Skills & Capacity Programme, are crucial to facilitate faster housebuilding.
- Planning reform, reversing anti-supply measures, and removing barriers for vulnerable groups, like care leavers and survivors of domestic abuse, are also essential elements of the housing and policy agenda, as highlighted by various reports from the Labour Party, Town & Country Planning Association, Campaign to Protect Rural England, and Homes for Britain.
