Two-thirds of respondents describe housing shortage as severe
A survey by communications agency SEC Newgate has found that 74% of councillors believe that the housing crisis has worsened over the past twelve months.
The firm’s latest National Planning Barometer report also found that 66% of respondents describe the shortage of housing in their local areas as severe.
Developers claiming a lack of viability for delivery of affordable housing was seen as the key challenge to housing delivery, with around 80% of respondents also commenting that their local areas require more affordable and social rent properties.
Lack of funding was seen as the second key challenge, followed by slow build-out by developers.
Grey belt inquiry launched by House of Lords Committee
An inquiry has been set up by the House of Lords Built Environment Committee to look into the Government’s ‘grey belt’ plans, with a call for evidence concluding on 14 October.
The inquiry is in response to the Government’s target of building 1.5 million homes in five years, and will “seek to gain a better understanding of what Grey Belt land is, how it can contribute to housing targets and what sustainable Grey Belt development looks like”.
In its consultation on revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework, Labour defined grey belt land as areas within the green belt “which make a limited contribution to the green belt’s purposes”.
Lord Moylan, chair of the House of Lords Built Environment Committee, said: “Finding enough land for new housing will be key to whether the government can achieve its housing targets. Designating some green belt land as grey belt may help it to do that.
“Our inquiry will look at how the government and local authorities might identify grey belt areas thought suitable for development and how to ensure new homes are supported by the necessary infrastructure and local amenities.”
Barratt joins forces with Homes England and Lloyds to form joint venture
Barratt Developments has entered a joint venture with Homes England and Lloyds Banking Group to create MADE Partnership, which will oversee the development of around 10,000 homes across England.
Acting as master developer, the MADE Partnership will commence development opportunities within large brownfield developments and new garden village communities, with both large and SME developers given the opportunity to “build the new homes and communities the country needs”.
A master developer oversees and manages large-scale projects, with responsibilities for overall vision, strategy and co-ordination of stakeholders involved within each scheme.
Housing minister Matthew Pennycook said: “A failure to ensure the development system is working properly has held back the delivery of tens of thousands of new homes over recent years and this government will work in partnership with all those who are focused on turning things around.
“The landmark new partnership announced today will support our commitment to ramp up housing supply and boost economic growth by developing more large-scale, attractive and sustainable places across the country with the homes, jobs and infrastructure that communities need to thrive”.
Construction output contracts in July
Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics have revealed that construction output fell into contraction in July, following two months of growth.
A -0.4% fall in output follows a 1.7% increase in May, and 0.5% in June.
However, new work only fell by -0.2%, with the key drivers for overall contraction being private commercial new work and private housing repair and maintenance.
Housing View 