Blog
Permission to Visit - Goldilocks and the Three Bank Statements
Robert Houchill
The need for new houses is well-documented and inarguable.
The government have set an ambitious target to tackle this housing crisis – calling for 1.5 million new homes over the next five years or put differently, 300k new homes a year. To put that in context, UK house building has not topped 300k in a calendar year since 1970 – so, as I say, ambitious.
It is also clear to us that there are a wealth of SME developers wanting to build.
Unfortunately, however, the problems facing developers are numerous and seemingly unavoidable – skill shortages, planning delays, disproportionate s106 requirements, supply costs and high interest rates all contribute to deter the house building market. In an effort to encourage building, the government’s target comes with the promise of funding for SME Developers and a significant increase in the number of planning officers, but whilst we wait for these promises to be realised, is there more they could do?
What if I told you we could bypass the planning stage altogether? Allowing developers to select an “off the shelf” development and move straight to building.
I want to make the case for national “pre-approved design” – the ALPAD development if you will (stay with me, please) – the opportunity presented by allowing “off the shelf” developments to be fast-tracked, bypassing the planning procedure entirely.
The concept of “allocated land” is well-known and theoretically an extremely useful tool for encouraging building and tackling the housing crisis. Here, the local authority designates specific areas of land for development – providing would-be developers some confidence that a complementary planning application will be approved. However, in practice, Local Plans can quickly become outdated and developers still need to go through the rigmarole of the planning system – experiencing the same delays and with no cast iron guarantee of consent.
But what if we could combine this allocated land (AL) with pre-approved designs (PAD) – a ALPAD development – allowing developers who own allocated land and are willing to build the pre-approved property, to circumvent the planning system and get spades in the ground on day 1. Essentially an expanded permitted development right. Why not? The advantages are clear:
- Certainty – the certainty that would accompany such projects would encourage both funding (investors like certainty!) and building.
- Reducing project times – the removal of planning applications (and therefore, subsequent appeals) gives developers months of project time back and with time savings come cost savings.
- Freeing up planning officers – allowing planning officers to focus on the complex schemes that need their time and attention.
- Design – yes, the “pre-approved” / “off the shelf” design may well mean that we see identical developments springing up across the country but this is a CRISIS and a genuine crisis cannot afford such luxuries as unique or novel aesthetic. Though similar design is not unusual (think Victorian terraced housing), there are easy solutions – multiple types or sizes of pre-approved houses for instance – but in any event, uniform design creates opportunity – the pre-approved design could demand the use of sustainable materials, eco-friendly fittings or be designed to ensure a high EPC rating – you name it.
- Safety – developers would of course still need to evidence that the development was built in accordance with the pre-approved designs and buyers would still benefit from the twinned comfort of Building Regulations compliance and new homes warranties.
- Affordable Housing – allocated land could have a minimum and maximum number of units specified to it and sites of a certain size could dictate the % of affordable housing required.
So, quite clearly, a no brainer.
I suspect I will soon concede that the above has pitfalls, but there’s something there, right? I look forward to hearing from the “it will never happen” brigade.
Further information
If you have any questions regarding this blog, please contact Tom Beak in our Real Estate team.
About the author
Tom is a Senior Associate in our Real Estate team and is experienced in a range of commercial and residential property matters, with a particular focus on property development. Tom acts for property investors, developers, lenders, landlords and tenants.
We welcome views and opinions about the issues raised in this blog. Should you require specific advice in relation to personal circumstances, please use the form on the contact page.
You may also be interested in:
Blog
The rise of the cryptoassets in financial remedies
Connie Atkinson
Blog
Supreme Court clarifies VAT group rules in Prudential v HMRC
Waqar Shah
Share insightLinkedIn X Facebook Email to a friend Print