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Higher Planning Cost for House Builders

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 Joey Gardiner - Building

Jenrick’s Defence

  • Housebuilders will pay higher planning contributions under new system, housing secretary says in defence of government proposals for a radical overhaul of the planning system. These have been warmly welcomed by small housebuilders but derided as shameful by critics.

    • Shake-Up

    The controversial shake-up will see the current system, in which councils determine every individual application, abandoned in favour of one where councils effectively give permission in advance by zoning swathes of land for growth.

    Assault on Democracy

  • While the government has said that local communities will be at the heart of the new system, critics are describing the move as an assault on local democracy which, combined with the recent expansion of permitted development rights, could lead to the creation of slum housing.


    • Growth Zones

  • Councils will be required to develop local plans within 30 months that will zone all land in their areas as either “growth”, “renewal” or “protection”. Growth zones will benefit from automatic permission, while renewal areas will benefit from permission in principle.


    • §106 to be Scrapped

  • The government is also proposing to do away with the Section 106 system of determining developer contributions, which delivers around half of the UK’s supply of affordable housing. Both this and the Community Infrastructure Levy will be replaced by a new infrastructure levy.


    • Help for SME Builders

  • Jenrick said the reforms, described by Labour as a “developers’ charter”, were particularly aimed at helping SME builders to navigate the planning system and build more homes. He denied that they put more power in the hands of major developers.


    • Design Codes

  • Asked about over whether local communities could do anything to stop schemes they did not like in growth zones, Jenrick told the BBC: “But those development will be subject to design codes, to high environmental standards, and will pay a significant charge – a new infrastructure levy.
  • “Yes, people won’t be able to do anything then – but then they can’t really in the current system. What we’re asking for is for people to have a meaningful contribution early on in the process by setting the plan.”


    • Wider Benefits

  • Jenrick added: “The people who will benefit from this change are obviously the people who will get the new homes but also small and medium-sized builders, not the volume builders who are the only ones that can navigate what is currently a complex and highly litigious system.”


    • Developers to Pay More

  • “In the growth zone the debate will be in the plan-making process,” he said, adding that the new infrastructure levy would require developers to contribute more than they currently do. “This isn’t giving more power to developers – we’re actually asking them to pay more.”


    • Get More Homes

  • Jenrick added: “We’re going to abolish the current system [of developer contributions] which favours big developers and ask them to pay more. We’re asking them to abide by a design code which will be set by local people. It will shift the dynamic toward SME developers and local people. And get homes built – which is the main challenge I face.”


    • Warm Welcome

  • Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB local builders trade body warmly welcomed the plan. He said: “Local, small builders are ready and waiting to play their part in delivering the homes, jobs, and growth, but the increasing complexities and costs of the planning system in England have held them back.
  • “If we get this right, making it easier for SME housebuilders to play a role will help support jobs, provide training opportunities for apprentices and lead to higher quality, green homes that are fit for the future.”


    • Big Step

  • The RICS described the proposals as “a big step in the right direction”, which could deliver “a quicker more streamlined system that doesn’t lower either standards, building quality, internal environment or planning of placement for new homes”.


    • Ride Roughshod

  • But the Local Government Association said it was concerned at the erosion of local democracy.
  • Its chairman James Jamieson said: “Any loss of local control over developments would […] deprive communities of the ability to define the area they live in and know best and risk giving developers the freedom to ride roughshod over local areas.”


    • Less Flexibility

  • Hugh Ellis, director of policy at the Town and Country Planning Association, said the government needed to be honest about the negative consequences of the plans. He added: “It will undoubtedly be a much less flexible system than the current one and will result in the removal of a major part of the democratic scrutiny of decisions.
  • “There will be no planning committee decisions about applications because all of this will have been decided at the plan-making stage when the zones are agreed. Some will argue that removing this final democratic control is a positive idea, but it is the removal of democratic oversight, and no one should pretend otherwise.”


    • Developers Charter

  • Mike Amesbury, Labour’s shadow housing and planning minister, said: “This is a developers’ charter that will see communities side-lined in decisions and denied vital funding for building schools, clinics and community infrastructure.
  • “These proposals will only serve to blight communities with a new wave of slum housing.”


    • Low Energy Homes

    Whatever the eventual changes, Design Codes & Zoning are sure to require improved energy efficient, sustainable buildings, requiring housebuilders to keep pace with legislation. Modular Off-site MMC SIP & Timber Frame structures provide excellent ways to save waste and deliver top energy rated homes.  Working  with architects, planners and environmentalists to satisfy all types of design, we are already well on the way to incorporating waste reduction measures into our procedures and processes. This means our ‘Volumetric’ and ‘Flat pack’ modular building solutions can ‘tread lightly on the earth’ as we adapt our business innovations and developments to your environmental needs.  


    Lightweight  Solutions

    For example, standard designs from our very low rise ‘SolidLox’ brand enable us to provide buildings that do not require massive foundations and which can avoid harming tree roots while delivering on time and within budget. Such projects require a systematic, solution driven approach which brings discipline to the process, sharing  information and communications. Applying DfMA (Design for Manufacture & Assembly) defines the process of taking these to the next level; a welcome change in the overall approach to project management and development – and to those who just ‘talk about it’!


    Partnering for Modular Progress

    All of this entails a shift in thinking to that already practiced by established ‘Off-Site’ MMC manufacturers. It can be quickly and easily incorporated into procedures and processes of building and development. Better still, you can make partnering arrangements with such manufacturers to gain all round benefits.


    Greater Speed, Accuracy, Quality and Lower Costs

    Greater collaborative ‘partnering’ between architects, builders and  manufacturers will deliver these. The greater speed, accuracy and quality that can result from manufacturing components in a dry, controlled factory environment, together with the ability tom incorporate (yet to be invented) ‘Smart Ware’  gives home builders perhaps the only way of achieving this, together with improved on-site build quality AND controlling costs.


    Resistance Disappearing

    While resistance to the change to DfMA has been the norm, the wish of most UK Builders to deliver excellent customer service and top notch homes is now driving an increasing number to choose Off-Site for their developments. Also, as ‘OffSite Hub” note, architects and designers are moving toward DfMA, something we have been encouraging for over 20 years. The emergence of LA Developers will only speed up this process.


    Easy Timber Frame

    To assist them in doing so our “Easy Timber Frame “ now offers standard size modular timber frame elements for them to use as a design base, cutting down on technical design and engineering to produce win-win results. This virtually provides any housebuilder or architect with their own bespoke design factory facility.

    Better all-round Savings

  • Our specialist services and CUSTOM homes division deliver best value and  protect the interests of land owners, house-builder developers, professionals and private individuals seeking to build their dream home. Our off-site construction systems also reduce the amount of material that gets wasted on site, helping to avoid land fill, hazardous waste separation and handling, They also deliver better value for you and your customers.


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