GRAINGER PLC 
7 September 2015
Housing chiefs unveil five-point plan for housing delivery in major new report
Better resourced planning departments, centrally driven housing targets and partnerships between councils and developers are key to upping the delivery of new homes, according to a new white paper published today.
RESI Insights, produced by Grainger Plc and Property Week, one of the UK ' s leading business magazines, sets out five key areas for upping Britain ' s output of new homes. It is launched on the first day of RESI, the country ' s biggest housing conference, taking place over three days at Celtic Manor, Newport.
The research features in-depth analysis from senior executives at Legal & General, Argent and HUB, together with former housing and business minister Mark Prisk and Lord Kerslake, former HCA chief and former permanent secretary to the Department for Communities and Local Government, who ' s now chairman of Peabody.
It comes ahead of Property Week ' s RESI conference at Celtic Manor, Newport, the UK ' s largest property conference, which takes place between 7-9 September.
The report sets out five key areas summarised below:
Resourcing planning departments
The planning system must enable more suitable development and this can only be achieved by ensuring planning departments have the necessary funding and sufficiently skilled staff. If development is to be the centre-point of UK productivity, then planning resources must be ring-fenced and its importance underlined as a key enabler of housing.
Public-private collaboration
Enhanced cooperation between investors, developers and public bodies has become more prevalent in recent years. More cohesive collaboration could deliver untold benefits for the public bodies, allowing them to maximise the value of assets without simply disposing of them. Some parties understand this, but the approach is inconsistent at best and some councils refuse outright to engage. We need some clarity around best practice looks like.
Blurring lines around tenure
All too often, councils are blinded by approaching housing provision in a ' black and white ' manner. Some are only focused on affordable housing and some do not recognise Build to Rent, despite Britain having nine million private renters. The answer to driving flexibility is to make the planning system cater for what areas actually and, crucially, for councils to properly engage without being constrained by plans which may be out-of-date or unviable or tick-box mandates which do not reflect the current demographics.
Centrally-driven housing targets
Having nationally mandated targets over housing will be essential if the government is genuinely committed to building homes, particular in areas resistant to change. No one would disagree with the value of local engagement. But a commitment to deliver homes without the teeth to overcome baseless opposition is not a commitment. We need to support innovative development in the right places. But we need clarity from a central over where those places should be. This is because the provision of housing - social infrastructure - must align with transport, health, education and employment provision. It must be part of a national plan not down the whims of local politics.
Skills, apprenticeships and succession planning
One of the biggest challenges we as a sector currently face lies around construction costs. The recent surge has been partly been fuelled by a lack of skilled workers. As with many housing issues, this is systemic and results from a long-term failure to address the need for integrated training regimes that tie together genuine market needs with the education system. Key to this is reforming construction apprenticeships in this country, focusing them on young adults rather school leavers, and ensuring funding is tied to outcomes.
Liz Hamson, editor of Property Week, said:
" As a sector, we continue to come under pressure on many levels. And while moves to identify housing zones or devolve powers are welcome, there is still a real need to set out how the existing problem of delivery is genuinely addressed. Our white paper has identified five key themes that I passionately believe need exploration. "
Nick Jopling, executive director of property at Grainger plc, said:
"Housing supply is one of the most important issues facing us all today. Support for skills and training and greater public and private sector collaboration are just two of the important recommendations highlighted in this report, but the one that resonates most with us is the need for further support for the Build to Rent sector, especially the adoption of rental covenants."
Robert Evans, partner at Argent LLP, said:
"We need to have a long look at where housing sits, not just in terms of government departments but also how we create a sense of national purpose around building more homes."
Lord Kersake, former HCA chief executive, said:
"If the UK is serious about boosting house building it needs to place as much importance on housing as on other infrastructure. We need to prioritise and plan for it as we do hospitals and railways."
Bill Hughes, head of real estates at Legal and General Invesmtent Management, said:
"The crucial thing is getting the planning system to deliver more permissions. I believe planning departments should have a centrally mandated obligation to deliver a certain number of housing permissions."
Steve Sanham, development director at HUB, said:
"If we are to deliver homes in the numbers we need, at the rate that we need them, then we need to address the delivery side of the equation, and that means taking an interest in the people who build the homes for us."
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