In itself, the announcement of housing and planning bills in the Queen's Speech is significant enough. Coming just before the publication of the Callcutt Review, and alongside the ongoing OFT inquiry, the Autumn political season has rarely been busier. Figures from the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit have claimed that the Government's target of 240,000 additional homes per year by 2016 will not be sufficient to meet demand and help tackle the affordability crisis. But despite the consensus over the need for more housing, the need for more land still has not been accepted by all quarters. We will continue to ensure that the critical message, that more land is the only permanent solution to the housing crisis, reaches the highest levels of Westminster, Whitehall and Fleet Street in the run-up to Christmas. Key News Statutory Planning Charge (formally known as PGS) The Government's plans to replace the proposed Planning-gain Supplement with a planning charge represents a major victory for HBF, working closely with the commercial property sector. I am very grateful to the many HBF members who have contributed their thoughts in our many consultations and discussions, and especially to our special working groups on the PGS who gave up so much time over the last two years and helped us mount such an effective case against the PGS. Our efforts will now be concentrated on working on the details of the new charge. Primary legislation will be needed to remove the link between a development and its planning obligation (the necessity tests of Circular 05/2005 and 1/97 before it). CLG also wants to use primary legislation to establish the basis of the charge system. However it will be the detail of how the planning charge will be implemented that will drive secondary regulations and practice guides. HBF staff are attending frequent meetings with CLG officials and other key stakeholders in an attempt to thrash out a practical and deliverable system of a planning charge based on local authority infrastructure plans. Although these plans have been a requirement of local authorities for some time, setting local planning charge levels raises their importance to a whole new level. It will be incumbent upon the industry to ensure that they are both fairly and reasonably related to the actual infrastructure necessary to support growth, but that they do not turn into a wish list for gold plating of every conceivable public service. Guidance, opinion and advice is being sought from HBF members through regional meetings, all of the standing HBF groups (although principally the National Planning Committee) and a specially formed team of interested people representing a range of companies. As with most new processes, the devil is in the detail. I can assure you that we are doing everything possible to ensure that the system, in both the enabling legislation that will be taken through its formal stages in the next few months, and the practical implementation (most likely commencing in October 2009) are as clear and unambiguous as we can make them. After all, a transparent and fair system must be best for all: central government, local authorities, developers and the wider public. OFT Market Study The OFT will shortly send out a questionnaire to house builders. HBF was shown an early draft of the questionnaire, as were a number of house builders, so that we could feed back comments on whether the questions could be completed as they were drafted. We understand the questionnaire will be sent to a sample of house builders in the next few weeks. Local authority planners will also be surveyed. The OFT is also undertaking a survey of owners buying a new home in the last two years, involving 1,000 face-to-face interviews in people's homes. Owners are being asked about their experiences of purchasing and living in their new home, how satisfied they are with the quality and range of properties available, the after-sales service offered and the adequacy of redress if something goes wrong. To view latest documents relating to the OFT Market Study visit our website Political developments The Queen's Speech The importance of housing and planning were clearly outlined in the Queen's Speech on Tuesday. Speaking in the Lords, the Queen outlined the aims of the Housing and Regeneration Bill to create the Homes and Communities Agency to support the delivery of social and affordable housing and the Government's pledge to build 3m homes by 2020, whilst further improving environmental standards. She also spoke about the implementation of the Planning Reform Bill, designed to streamline and improve the planning system, including the introduction of a new statutory planning charge. In the HBF press release issued this week, I welcomed the measures outlined in the Queen's Speech to increase the supply of housing which recognised the scale of the challenge we face. However, land now needs to be 'un-locked' in order to meet this challenge. View the full press release 2016 Task Force The Task Force met again on 24 October. We have recognised that at this stage of its work there is a need to ensure that the views emerging from its discussions can be consistently and effectively followed up. I believe, and have recommended that, this requires the creation of a delivery body that is adequately resourced and we are currently in discussion with CLG about this. We also confirmed the importance of energy supply issues, which was demonstrated by Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks joining the Task Force. Following the very constructive discussions HBF members have recently held with members of the UK Business Council for Sustainable Energy (UKBCSE), there is to be a joint HBF and UKBCSE meeting with Yvette Cooper later this month to represent joint industry views on issues relevant to achieving the 2016 target. It is interesting to note that the Berkeley Group announced on 30 October that all of its sites seeking planning permission after 1st January 2008 will commit to certifying all new homes (excluding refurbishments) to Level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. Also Barratt will be building a 'Green House' at the BRE centre in Watford, which will be built to Code Level 6. The Merton rule The public and political campaign being run by supporters of the Merton Rule has continued. The Minister has clarified her position by indicating that while existing planning policy, notably PPS22, allows for such rules to be adopted they must be subject to proper scrutiny and justification through the public inquiry process. The final version of the new PPS on Climate Change is still expected to be published this year. Party Conferences Attending the Labour and Conservative conferences for HBF, External Affairs Director John Slaughter observed a distinct shift in the political debate from a focus on the national picture to an emphasis on local methods of delivery. This change of focus, together with the challenge of issues such as zero carbon, is underlining the need for HBF to explore new forms of collaboration with other bodies. We will therefore be building on the positive experiences we have already gained through the 2016 Task Force and our joint working with commercial developers on PGS as we go forward. Meanwhile the Conservatives attracted considerable attention in promising exemption from stamp duty for first-time buyers whose homes cost less than £250,000. This announcement coincided with a similar call made by David Pretty for the New Homes Marketing Board at the start of October. The future of the Green Belt The Government's countryside and habitat advisor, Natural England, mooted a more relaxed approach to the Green Belt. In tackling the twin issues of housing supply and climate change, Chairman Sir Martin Doughty questioned the value of denser infill of urban areas, alongside recognising the relatively low value of many Green Belt sites. This follows on from a recent report from the Social Market Foundation reaching the same conclusion, and indicates what may be a welcome shift in thinking on a very contentious issue. HBF press coverage HBF Press coverage is now updated daily on our website. Economic affairs Callcutt Review John Callcutt will launch his Review report on 22 November. I have been asked to speak at the launch in response to his findings and recommendations. Housing Market Intelligence Housing Minister Yvette Cooper joined me, John Callcutt, Bank of Scotland CEO corporate Peter Cummings and others as speakers at HBF's Housing Market Intelligence conference in London on October 9. The wide-ranging and well-attended event gave HBF the platform to challenge the Government to speed up the planning system. In response the Minister sent out a strong message to local authorities, stating that they must not delay preparation of housing land availability assessments if local development frameworks are behind schedule. "Councils can't just wait for local development frameworks," she said. "They need to get on with preparing five and 15 year strategic housing land availability assessments (SHLAAs) now. The Planning Inspectorate will take it into account if they fail to produce these land supply plans and to identify developable land even before local development frameworks are in place." Planning affairs Eco-Towns HBF is sitting alongside other stakeholders on the CLG reference group to help advise on the implementation and application of eco-towns. The group will build on the Government's recent announcements in this area, including the extension to 10 eco-towns by 2020. Given the importance that both the Prime Minister and the Housing Minister are placing on this concept it is important that HBF continues to represent the more pragmatic face of the private sector in taking this initiative forward over the coming years. Yvette Cooper clarified at HMI that apart from Northstowe (Cambridge) and Cranbourne (Devon), which are already included in RSSs, the remaining eco-towns will all be additional to current RSS provision or allocations. Housing and Planning Delivery Grant CLG have recently published their consultation on the replacement of Planning Delivery Grant (PDG) which was previously focussed on rewarding local authorities who determined planning applications in accordance with central government time standards, with a Housing and Planning Delivery Grant (HPDG). Half of this new grant funding (£510m over the next three years, compared to £425m worth of PDG over the last three years) will be available to local planning authorities who deliver sound development plans and can identify a five year housing land supply in accordance with PPS3. The other half of the grant funding will be available to those authorities delivering additional stock at the rate of 0.75% of their existing stock each year. HBF will be discussing with CLG whether or not this 0.75% target is realistic to deliver the increase in housebuilding required to meet the 240,000 dwellings per annum, and whether it is right or fair to reward Local Planning Authorities who appear to be doing merely that which is required by the 2004 Town & Country Planning Act or PPS3. While the latter appears, on the face of it, to be disingenuous it is well documented that progress on the production of both sound development plans and five year housing land supply studies has been painfully slow. It is clear, therefore, that central government has started to lose patience with those LPAs who appear to either be incompetent or have some hidden agenda for not wishing to bring forward the new tools of housing delivery and, helpfully, appear to want to do something about it. The formal consultation on the proposals ends on 17 January 2008. New Homes Marketing Board The revamped NHMB, under the chairmanship of David Pretty, launched its first initiative on 2nd October. Focusing on the theme of first-time buyers, the first press release highlighted the worsening plight of first-time buyers and the real social problems that now exist for those trying to get their foot on the property ladder. The release was supported by the results of a YouGov Survey specially commissioned for the NHMB plus member case study information and supporting fact sheet. The YouGov survey findings were utilised for a second release issued at the end of October entitled "The 'lost generation of first-time buyers' who fear the prospect of renting forever" The stories have achieved wide ranging coverage in the National, Trade and online media including: Times, Financial Times, Daily Telegraph, Daily Express, Housebuilder, Showhouse, Estates Gazette, Building, Rightmove and Findaproperty.com. The NHMB work to date is available to view on the website. Technical Issues Code for Sustainable Homes - consultation HBF has responded to the CLG consultation on the Future of the Code for Sustainable Homes expressing the view that there was little point in making a rating mandatory when the Code is optional. We also rejected the idea that the Code should be amended at different times and particularly opposed the idea that Lifetime Homes standards should become mandatory at different Levels at different times. We stressed that the path to zero carbon will require a concerted and consistent effort from all parties if it is to be achieved. Amending what is supposed to be a standard of comparison would lead to confusion, and could ultimately undermine the industry's attempts to improve the sustainability of the housebuilding industry. Code for Sustainable Homes - technical guidance CLG has recently issued a revision to the technical guidance and has agreed to hold regular meetings with HBF to try and address any further problems found. Home Information Packs/Energy Performance Certificates The date for new housing to need an EPC on completion has been deferred from 1 January 2008 until 6 April 2008. The Government has just announced the energy assessor standards and are inviting applications for interested bodies to apply to be accreditation schemes. Innovate for Homes The fourth Housebuilder Panel for 2007 will be organised shortly. New pages on the website allow you to follow links to all the products featured. Water HBF has responded to the Environment Agency's consultation 'Water for people and the environment' suggesting that the first consideration should be reducing the amount of water lost through leakage. We also proposed that the EA should have a national water strategy, possibly including serious consideration of a national grid for water. We reiterated that proliferation of Sustainable Drainage Systems is still impeded by the lack of any mechanism for adoption and maintenance. Sewers HBF has responded to the Defra consultation on how to implement the transfer of private sewers, which is intended to take place in 2010. Our comments centre on the difficulties in agreeing national standards for adoption and concerns about the implications for the sustainability of new build drainage. Proposed EU Soil Directive HBF has responded to the Defra consultation on a proposed Soil Directive, expressing concerns about the possible implications of a ban on soil sealing and the difficulties of trying to set up a contaminated land register and remediation programme. Existing Stock HBF also submitted comments to the CLG Committee's Existing Housing Stock and Climate Change Inquiry. We reiterated our belief that since modern housing is at least four times as energy efficient as Victorian terraces (more since the 2002 and 2006 amendments to Part L of the Building Regulations) and since new housing adds less than 1% to the housing stock every year, improving the thermal efficiency of the existing stock would have a greater impact on climate change than further improvements in new build. The run-up to Christmas promises to be extremely busy, but do remember that the HBF team at St James' Street always welcome the opportunity to hear from you at any time. We will produce a final update for the year in mid-December. Stewart Baseley Executive Chairman
