Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has announced the creation of a taskforce to accelerate the building of thousands of partially built new build homes and thousands more stuck in the planning system.
The New Homes Accelerator brings together teams from the Ministry of Housing and Homes England and will work across government and with local councils to accelerate the buildout of housing schemes the government say have been ‘delayed by planning and red tape.’
Analysis by the Government suggests up to 200 sites where outline or details plans are ready but are yet to be started could be intervened in to start the building process. The New Homes Accelerator will lean on government agencies, local planning departments and housebuilders working to “resolve specific local issues and deploy planning experts on the ground to work through blockages at each site identified. This includes looking at barriers to affordable housing delivery where relevant. ”
The New Homes Accelerator was announced as part of the Chancellor’s speech in July and since then, Labour say four large housing sites are already progressing that will deliver over 14,000 homes in Liverpool, Worcester, Northstowe and Sutton Coldfield. With further sites in Leicestershire, Essex and Bedfordshire targeted where up to 10,000 new homes could benefit from the programme.
Commenting on the initiative Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner said:
“For far too long the delivery of tens of thousands of new homes has been held back by a failure to make sure the development system is working as it should. This government has a moral obligation to do everything within our power to build the homes that people desperately need and we won’t hesitate to intervene where we need to.
“Our New Homes Accelerator will quickly identify blockages, fix problems and support local authorities and developers to get shovels in the ground.”
Alongside the Accelerator programme a call for evidence has also been launched calling on landowners, local authorities and housebuilders to come forward with details of blocked sites that have significant planning issues, so the Government tackle the obstacles that are preventing the delivery of new homes.
Labour say the New Homes Accelerator is further commitment to their stated objective of building 1.5 million new homes in this Parliament, alongside an overhaul of the planning system which will see new mandatory housing targets for councils and 300 additional planning officers recruited.
David O’Leary, Executive Director of the Home Builders Federation said:
“The planning process and everything associated with it delivers too little land and has long been a significant constraint on house building. Government has shown a welcome desire in the weeks since the election to address the problems. A lack of planning department capacity and misaligned incentives for other public bodies and statutory consultees has created a process with huge uncertainty. This creates an abundance of risk resulting in longer development timescales and severe challenges in particular for small and medium-sized house builders.
“Adopting a pragmatic approach to planning will increase the pace at which new homes are built and help to turn around ailing housing supply. Unlocking homes and delivering new communities will boost growth and support job creation while providing young people with access to new, more affordable housing. The housing market is complex and we look forward to working with government to ensure that all aspects of the housing market are functioning more effectively.”
Stephen Teagle, Vistry CEO, Partnerships & Regeneration said:
“The creation of the New Homes Accelerator shows the Government is listening to both our industry and the millions of people who are unable to access a decent, permanent home. Delivering large-scale housing development involves overcoming a host of overlapping obstacles – from planning and infrastructure through to funding challenges. Unblocking these pathways will lead to the development of thousands more high-quality sustainable homes while helping to drive economic growth. We look forward to contributing to the Accelerator to ensure it is viable and able to deliver results.”
Tim Beale, CEO at Keepmoat added:
“We support the formation of the New Homes Accelerator. The current situation is deeply frustrating, so I am very hopeful that this will be a positive step towards unlocking the delivery of our stalled developments, helping us to continue working with our Partners to build more of the high quality new homes that the UK needs.”
2 responses
More puff spouted by government. Sort out the issues with the building safety crisis first. Are they going to allow more shoddily built homes in favour of showing the numbers? Applies to both houses and flats. There’s no certainty now we are being handed genuine sign off that buildings are safe.
They’re doing both.