House Builders Association responds to the Labour Party’s proposals to use it or lose it for developers’ land
The House Builders Association (HBA), a division of the National Federation of Builders notes the Labour Party's proposals for stimulating housing delivery by the release of land held by developers.
James Hulme, strategic policy adviser to the HBA, said: “Whilst any ability to access the land on which to build homes is welcome, there are a number of reasons why land is held in this way.
In the experience of our members, gaining planning permission is just one hurdle to be cleared before building on a site can begin, with access to development finance and the need to meet further demanding conditions causing further cost and delay. Compulsory purchase orders will treat the symptom but not the perceived problem with land banks.
There are more effective methods of dealing with land banks, such as reducing the amount of time for which the planning application remains valid."
