Planning reforms could see housing supply fall to record low

A new HBF report, ‘Planning for Economic Failure’ lays bare the implications of the Government’s anti-development approach to house building, warning that supply could halve and fall to the lowest level since World War II.

The Government’s appeasement of its backbenchers, and the free rein given to quangos will have disastrous impacts on housing supply.

As well as the much publicised reforms of the planning system that will see local authorities no longer required to plan for the housing needs of its communities, the report highlights the growing list of interventions by the quango Natural England that could see supply fall from 233k last year to below 120k homes per annum in the coming years – well under half the Government’s frequently espoused target of 300k.

Such a fall has significant social and economic implications for the country and would deepen the housing crisis and intergenerational inequalities and cost;

• nearly 400k jobs – including 4000 apprentices
• Over £20 billion less economic activity being generated
• Over £3 billion less investment in affordable housing

Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of HBF said; “The increasingly anti-development and anti-business policy environment poses a real threat to house building and is inevitably at the forefront of minds when investment decisions are being made.

"The Government’s capitulation to the NIMBY lobby and its mishandling of water and drainage legislation could see fewer homes built than ever before. The social and economic implications are stark and threaten to widen the ever growing intergenerational divide while costing hundreds of thousands of jobs.

“As we try to tackle the housing crisis during a recession, with tighter mortgage availability and no government scheme to assist buyers purchase new builds for the first time in decades, short-term political decisions to appease backbenchers seriously threaten confidence.”