Delivering More and Better Homes Across the UK – Part One

It was great to be joined by leading players in the public and private sector to discuss the fundamentals of building not just more, but better and more affordable housing. It was a very lively panel debate, full of challenges, and great insight into how both sectors are working together to achieve positive outcomes.

There was much discussion around housing targets and the reality of delivery. How we build sustainable and futureproofed homes, how we bring communities and people together and how we create homes for everyone, no matter their background and no matter the tenure. Here are the highlights

Public sector leaders take the charge

The view from London

The leaders from the public sector kicked off the session with Darren Rodwell, Leader, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. He outlined that it doesn’t matter who works with who to deliver growth, it’s all about partnerships and putting the citizen at the centre of everything. Although housebuilders need to ask themselves, are they building for profit or for people.

He went on to explain that his borough is the only one in London that is doing PRS BTR that is delivering homes at the London living wage.

“There aren’t many leaders in politics that really understand what’s happening on the ground. Local, regional and national governments need to get their houses in order. They need to show willing and support for the private sector, and we must take the politics out of house building,” he says.

“The snobbery needs to stop. We’ve got to start thinking about the values we want in society. I’m putting £350 million into my housing stock. My people deserve good quality housing. We need to say that a home is a home whatever tenure it is. Give people aspirations at every level, by giving them a range of housing options.”

The view from Manchester

Eamonn Boylan of Greater Manchester Combined Authority went up next and he opened the discussion about what they’re doing in Manchester. “We’re working hard on an infrastructure plan, with utilities and transport providers to make certain that their investment strategies are tilted toward the delivery of the infrastructure we know we need to create that growth. It’s not just about transport, but digital infrastructure, green and blue infrastructure.

“At the heart of our ambition is genuine inclusivity and genuine opportunity for our people. We need to make certain that we’re delivering housing for scale and affordability and for people who are working in Manchester.

“Collectively, we need to have a more sensible debate about how we deliver outcomes for places. To succeed in delivering a sustainable future for my conurbation, I must work with the private sector to help establish viable markets in places where no viable market could have existed, but, we need consistency across the delivery.”

Looking to the future Eamonn said: “We’re seeing the rate of attrition of small housebuilders at a rate of knots. We need to recalibrate our approach to help them. Retrofit is so important for housing in the future. Thinking about how we will heat our homes, how we will power them differently. Existing housing stock and new stock needs to be adaptable, sustainable and fit for purpose.”

The view from the West Midlands

Gareth Bradford, Director of Housing and Regeneration, West Midlands Combined Authority, spoke about the need to build, but not at any cost, adding that modern methods of construction are a key sector for the region going forward.

“In April, we launched a single commission framework for all land and housing investment that the WMCA manages in the region, whereby developers must go through some basic stages and meet basic criteria. We want investment, we want to see development happen, but not at any cost.”

Bradford stated that is isn’t just about building new homes, but about building great places and creating great opportunities. Housing delivery is a tool that helps us achieve those great places.

Working with the private sector he said: “We need to understand the pressures and challenges we are all under, to build trust, and go forward together as one. Have a coffee, sit together and understand those challenges. There’s nearly always a way through.”

The WMCA is looking at estate renewal, especially housing estates that are in high value areas, but the properties are currently of a low value. How do they provide a different type of environment across the place whilst ensuring it is done sensitively? “We must consider collectively the mix of housing we need to deliver, to drive inclusive growth and to drive our industrial strategy,” he said.

Looking to the future, Gareth said: “We need to push forward with design. There will be a shift in the types of products available and there will be more of a graduated housing market. We will be thinking more about how homes are used day to day, for example, what impact does the growth of working from home have on housing design.”

The view from the South West

Dr Patricia Greer, West of England Combined Authority talked about the increase in people moving from the Capital. “More and more people are moving from London to Bath and Bristol, and that’s increasing housing demand. Our challenge is fundamentally around building affordable homes. There is increasing pressure on inclusive growth, and that’s coming from business, not just politicians. We’ve been working for several years to build the first spatial plan, which sets out ambitions to deliver 105,500 homes over 20 years, over 12 strategic sites.

On the need for partnerships and the public and private sector working better, she says: “We all need to work better together, have more strategic conversations about what we’re all trying to do and be more open with each other, really understand what the challenges are. We’ve all got the same aim, to see homes built. We want the right mix of tenure, the right standard of design. We’ve got a joint assets board and are working with private sector developers and consultants to release the land.”

An excellent first half to our annual residential breakfast. If you missed it, come join us at our next London breakfast on 13th September, when we’ll tackle the changing development agenda. Book now!

Delivering More and Better Homes Across the UK – Part Two

Here is the second instalment of our blog, which looks at the highlights from our annual residential breakfast. In this part, we hear the thoughts of the private sector.

There was much discussion around housing targets and the reality of delivery. How we build sustainable and futureproofed homes, how we bring communities and people together and how we create homes for everyone, no matter their background and no matter the tenure. Here are the highlights.

The view from Homes England

Gareth Blacker, General Manager, Infrastructure and Complex Projects, Homes England spoke about the current skills shortage in the public sector and the construction industry and the tranche of people lost during the financial crisis a decade ago.

He went on to say: “The housing infrastructure fund has bought a vast amount of money forward from central government to go to local government. Whilst clunky, the outcomes could be really positive, and it’s got us working on four schemes simultaneously, with investments of more than £200 million going in. We’ve learnt a lot of lessons from that.

“As we move into the spending review and bidding process we’re looking at a single infrastructure grant, an alliance of private sector partners to come into a single fund with the aim to have continuous market engagement, with bidding for schemes that are ready to go. Knowing the funding is there even if you’re not looking to develop for a few years, gives certainty and confidence.

One thing Homes England do want to see more of is PRS REITS. Not just large schemes in the centre of cities, but developments for families. Homes England believes support needs to be spread across the regions and the types of home delivered for rent.

The view from the architect

Felicie Krikler, Director, Assael Architecture talked about measuring the social value of building housing and places. “Social value is something that comes up often in discussions during the procurement process. We’ve been working on developing a social value toolkit which assesses the social value created by different designs for that place. For us it is a learning tool and should offer clients insight and value in terms of who people feel about a place.

On Stamp Duty Krikler expressed that there needs to be a change in the system for downsizers, to unlock the top of the housing market. She said: “We also need to think about building homes for longer living and an aging population. Homes need to have a flexible design, so they can be adapted for the different stages of life.”

Modern methods of construction are the way forward

Mark Farmer, CEO, Cast Consultancy expressed his belief that we are starting to see the beginnings of disruption. “I’m increasingly seeing opportunity aligned to industrial strategy. Devolution and combined authorities are creating more opportunities to deliver. We’re also seeing other big drivers of change – we have a fire safety debate post Grenfell, we have a climate change agreement, however, to meet that we won’t be able to continue to build homes traditionally. We’ll need to look at other methods of construction,” he says.

He talked about how the insurance industry is an important stakeholder. Indemnity insurance is increasingly complex and expensive for those designing high risk residential buildings. On the modernisation agenda and coming back to building safety and drivers for change, the insurance industry has a massive part to play in driving the industry forward, but it needs assurance. We also need more stability in building regulations and standards. There is still massive confusion on what you can and can’t do, and that needs clarity.

Looking to the future, Mark says that there will be a cultural shift in how we build new homes, referencing Seksui House’s investment in the UK and that of other Japanese investors.

A view from Berkeley Group PLC

Tony Pidgley, Chairman, Berkeley Group PLC, was clear that the planning system doesn’t work as it currently stands. “There is no consistency across the councils. There are 60,000 units held up in the system and it’s clear there’s a housing crisis. As an example, we’ve been working for 20 years on getting 5,000 homes built on one site.”

But he did say that Birmingham is refreshing in their commitment to getting homes built. That he could meet with the people in charge for housing, and within a matter of weeks have planning approved and work beginning on site as soon as they’re ready.

There was a spirited exchange between Tony Pidgley and Councillor Rodwell, with Tony complaining about the excessive bureaucracy holding up planning and Cllr Darren Rodwell defending the need for processes to ensure “we don’t get robbed”.

He also stated that he is ashamed that as an industry, we’re only just starting to look at modern methods of construction. He talked about how they have been looking at this for years and are on the cusp of the first carbon neutral house. He believes MMC will have a great impact on our industry.

But what saddens Pidgley most, is the lack of small and medium housebuilders, who we so badly need to build the homes required. They need our help and a break from the banks.

Talking with regards to how they go about large-scale regeneration, Pidgley says: “We talk to residents first, not architects. Everyone involved in a new scheme will present to the residents as a team. It’s about putting people and communities first. We ask what people want from their homes, the community and place. We need to be tenure blind to how we build and develop places and homes.”

Having the final word at the breakfast, Pidgley asked the audience if we can we move away from thinking best value, to thinking decency.

Here, here! Join us at our next London breakfast on 13th September, when we’ll tackle the changing development agenda.