Post-Budget comment from Lawrence Turner, Director of Boyer
The housing market remains an important driver of growth for the UK economy and so it was quite right that the planning and development was prioritised in today’s Budget.
The announcement of a £500 million housing package as part of the Affordable Homes Programme, aimed at delivering up to 5,000 new affordable social homes, is very welcome. This initiative reflects a much-needed commitment to increasing social housing by introducing measures to reduce Right to Buy discounts; and allowing councils to retain 100% of receipts generated from these sales to reinvest in social housing.
Furthermore, the Government has pledged £47 million to local authorities to, "Tackle pollution in our rivers, which has halted housebuilding in highly polluted areas." This funding is projected by the Government to facilitate the delivery of around 28,000 homes.
Despite these announcements, there remains a pressing need for fiscal initiatives to drive greater housing growth. It was encouraging to see a greater investment in local planning authorities (LPAs). LPAs have been grappling with decreased resources and expertise since the austerity years, resulting in sluggish decision-making and protracted negotiations over Section 106 legal agreements and these bottlenecks continue to significantly delay new housing development.
Addressing the construction industry's persistent skills shortage is much needed to ensure / very welcome in ensuring the Government's housing targets are achievable in practice, not just on paper. And so it was encouraging to see £46 million committed to support recruitment and training for LPAs. I hope that some of this finds its way to the planning departments, though I note that it is not earmarked as such.
We very much welcome the additional £3 billion of support for SMEs and the Build to Rent (BTR) sector, in the form of housing guarantee schemes. Investment in BTR developments can bring about significant benefits. Enhancing BTR initiatives, as part of the Government's brownfield passport scheme, will help diversify the rental market, providing greater opportunities and choices for renters.
We also welcome Budget measures aimed at accelerating devolution to grant mayoral authorities, although much of the detail is awaited in the English Devolution Bill and much of the funding is yet to be released. Local politics is often overlooked but is very important to unlock housing delivery. Empowering local leaders to work collaboratively to plan and build the homes their districts need is often the most challenging element and fundamental to creating vibrant, sustainable new communities.