Pickles letter will lead to hiatus in house building Clear policy guidance is desperately required from Government if we are not to see a hiatus in house building and a worsening of the Country’s already acute housing crisis. Today’s announcement by South Oxfordshire that it is to scrap work on its Core Strategy* illustrates precisely the uncertainty we are going to see if details of the Government’s new planning system are not unveiled quickly. South Oxfordshire’s announcement immediately follows a letter yesterday from the Secretary of State for Communities Eric Pickles to Local Authority Planning Chiefs* telling them that Regional Housing targets are to be scrapped, which has in effect given a green light to Local Authorities to halt decisions on development plans and planning applications. But with no details in place as to how a new system is going to work, the vacuum in guidance has obvious potential to disrupt house building for the foreseeable future and poses serious concerns for all those to whom housing matters – including local communities themselves, home buyers and the many employed in and through house building. Whilst expecting a new Planning System, the industry has long argued the desperate need for a clear and robust transition plan to ensure the radical change from the ‘top down’ approach of the past Government to the ‘Localism’ based approach of the new regime can be effected without damage to the supply of much needed homes across the country. And at a time when the country has an already acute housing shortage, approaching a million homes, and is building less than at any time since 1923, such confusion has clear social and economic implications for the entire country. Speaking today HBF Executive Chairman Stewart Baseley said; “South Oxfordshire’s announcement demonstrates the urgent need for clarity on housing planning policy. The Government says it is committed to delivering more homes, but without urgent guidance, this aspiration will not be achieved. Scrapping the existing system without a replacement is a recipe for disaster. We have an acute housing crisis in this country, approaching a shortfall of a million new homes. We just cannot afford a period of confusion to reduce house building still further at a time when we are already building at the lowest level for many decades.” *See notes to editors --ends--- For media enquiries, or to arrange an interview, please contact Steve Turner on 020 7960 1606 / 07919 307 760 or steve.turner@hbf.co.uk Notes to Editors: 1. The Home Builders Federation (HBF) is the principal representative body for private sector home builders and voice of the home building industry in England and Wales. The HBF’s 300 member firms account for some 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 2. A Local Authority Core Strategy sets out the Councils visions and objectives for development in its area, including the amount and location of houses over a 20 year period. 3. Nearly 4.5 million people are now on Local Authority waiting lists The average age of a first time buyer is now 37 Housing issues are making couples start a family later Every house built creates 1.5 jobs directly plus up to 4 times that many in the supply chain House building stimulates the economy; every £1 spent generates nearly £3 in economic activity New homes generate on average 60% less co2 than older homes 4. Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, wrote a letter on 27 May to all Local Planning Authority Chief Planning Officers announcing the Government’s intention to ‘rapidly abolish Regional Strategies and return decision making powers on housing and planning to local councils.’The letter goes on to say that decisions on housing applications ‘will rest with Local Planning Authorities without the framework of regional numbers and plans’. The Secretary of State says he “will make a formal announcement on this matter soon”. While to this extent the letter is unclear as to whether or not LPAs will be permitted to ignore the RSS numbers from here on, or only once the RSSs have been formally abolished, it goes on to say that ‘LPAs and the Planning Inspectorate are to have regard to this letter as a material planning consideration in any decisions they are currently taking’. HBF has written to the Secretary of State expressing concern over the ambiguity and potential effects of this approach and its effect on housing delivery and seeking urgent clarification of how local authorities will be required to justify any housing provision figures other than those in the RSS.
