The CEO of Doncaster-based developer Keepmoat has welcomed Government plans for a ‘new homes accelerator’, which is intended to help end the housing crisis by getting stalled housing plans through the system.
Time Beale said: “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.”
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.”
The New Homes Accelerator will involve an experienced team from the Ministry of Housing and Homes England working across government and with local councils to accelerate the building of housing schemes delayed by planning and red tape to drive economic growth across every part of the country.
The team will bring together government agencies, local planning departments and housebuilders, who will work 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.
Interventions could see the New Homes Accelerator provide resources to support local planning capacity where there are barriers and work across the board to make sure planning decisions are made in a timely fashion.
Government analysis suggests 200 large sites have outline or detailed plans ready to go but are yet to begin construction, and the team is already getting started on some of those that would benefit from early interventions. The Accelerator will focus on lending a helping hand to frustrated housebuilders and local communities who want to play their part to get Britain building again, in turn driving local and economic growth.
