Britain’s home builders today cautiously welcomed the Conservative Party’s new framework for achieving sustainable communities, but warned that the problem of land supply must be addressed if the vision is to be realised.
Responding to the Conservative Party’s ‘Quality of Life challenge’ report released today, HBF Executive Chairman, Stewart Baseley, said:
“The report contains some radical but creative ideas, and given the scale of unmet housing demand we’re currently facing, it is important to challenge orthodoxies in a constructive way.
“However, the question that remained unanswered was how to ensure adequate land supply to meet the housing demand and realise their vision. New, sustainable communities will only be possible with the speeding up of the planning system and the release of more new land for development.”
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Additional briefing - Key facts and figures on housing supply
Analysis of the Government’s own figures on land supply has shown that between 1997 and 2003, the amount of land being brought forward for development fell by 7%. The main driver for this has been a drastic fall in the supply of greenfield land. During this period, there was a 36% fall in greenfield land being developed, and a corresponding 43% rise in brownfield land.
In 2006, private and public housing completions totalled 160,234. However, Government figures released in March 2007 show that new households are being formed at a rate of 223,000 per year, leaving a current shortfall in housing supply of over 60,000 homes.
HBF’s own research has shown that Local authorities take on average 248 days – nearly nine months – to issue planning approval after the submission of an application:
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Research conducted by the HBF from its major members shows that of the land held which has fully implementable planning permission, 97% has builders on site within three months of that permission being granted.
Recent research conducted by the Council of Mortgage Lenders showed that whilst home ownership is currently 70%, 84% of adults aspire to own their own home. This contrasts with figures from the Joseph Rowntree foundation which found that the ratio of house prices to earnings has risen from 2.7 to 1 in 1996, to 5.4 to 1 in 2005.
For first-time buyers, the situation is particularly bleak. Figures from the RICS have shown that the average first-time buyer couple will now have to save up to the equivalent of 82 per cent of joint income to build up the amount of savings needed to pay for their home, deposit and stamp duty, compared to 25 per cent in 1996.
Notes for editors
The Home Builders Federation (HBF) is the principal trade federation for private sector home builders and voice of the home building industry in England and Wales. The HBF’s 300 member firms account for over 80% of all new homes built in England and Wales in any one year, and include companies of all sizes, ranging from multi-national, household names through regionally based businesses to small local companies: www.hbf.co.uk
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