Brownfield sites: using Britain’s past to stimulate the future
The House Builders Association comments on the newly released productivity plan.
House building, infrastructure, and skills received a desperately needed boost in the right direction, with the release of the government blueprint ‘Fixing the Foundations: Creating a More Prosperous Nation’.
In a speech introducing the blueprints, Sajid Javid MP looked to ‘effectively give automatic planning permission on suitable brownfield sites’. Brownfield sites have always had the potential to unlock housing supply, but have been somewhat undervalued in recent years. These announcements achieve much more than just evolving supply policy. They will enable the formation of new communities, support neighbourhood planning and custom build, tackle the spiralling land costs, and allow planners to focus on application backlogs. In addition, the business secretary also announced: changes to compulsory purchase orders and upwards extensions, a tougher approach to planning deadlines, a skills initiative, and the fast tracking of infrastructure projects which include elements of housing development.
These brave measures will certainly stimulate opportunities for SMEs but, as with the NPPF, decision-makers need to comprehend changes quickly and ensure that the playing field remains open to small, medium, and large house builders.
In order to make best use of these opportunities, local authorities need to change their focus from large sites to smaller ones. Several brownfield sites need a collaborative approach so multiple developers can cooperate to produce housing mix while stimulating the local economy. Planners will now be able to focus on the backlog of existing applications, while local authorities can work more closely with developers to build communities sustainably.
The HBA very much welcomes the measures set out in ‘Fixing the Foundations: Creating a More Prosperous Nation’. Rico Wojtulewicz, policy advisor to the HBA, said “it feels long overdue”. Wojtulewicz added “My main hope is that unlike the NPPF local authorities, mayors, planners and communities can fully embrace this blueprint’s potential. If achieved, I believe supply can move closer to levels experienced in the 1990s, where SMEs were integral to building the homes people and communities wanted”.
