Late 2016 saw the CBI add its voice to the groundswell of opinion on the reasons the construction industry needs to change the way it works – especially when it comes to housebuilding.
In its report ‘No Place Like Home’ the UK’s largest business group advocated an ambitious new way of thinking – matched with action – to tailor the types of houses that are built and the way they are delivered to the needs and aspirations of those who will live in them. If the UK is to meet the Government’s ambitions to build 1 million new homes by 2020 not only do we need to think differently but importantly build differently.
“Delivering new homes at a much greater scale will require a new way of thinking, both in terms of the types of homes we deliver, and how we deliver them,” says Josh Hardie, CBI Deputy Director-General. “Britain is a diverse nation, and we need to make sure we are building a range of different homes in the right places to suit different people’s needs and aspirations and creating vibrant new communities not simply new units. Equally, we must encourage a diverse range of players and new entrants into the market in order to enhance building capacity, underpinned by greater innovation – already evident, for example, in areas like offsite manufacturing – which will be crucial in boosting supply.”
To ensure the UK’s housing challenge is adequately met, the CBI wants to see:
• A strategic housing plan from the Department for Communities and Local Government, with the forthcoming white paper on housing being integrated and joined up across Whitehall and beyond
• Government help for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) housebuilders through improved release of small sites of public land and making access to finance easier by rolling out its Home Building Fund
• Recognising the importance of and improving the attractiveness of the Private Rented Sector.
“Solving the UK’s housing shortage has long been a tough nut to crack,” adds Josh Hardie. “For Britain’s businesses, it is far from something confined to the news columns. It’s a problem the impacts of which are seen every day, from high prices barring people moving home and deterring them from applying or staying in a job, to the dent it puts in productivity. A flexible approach, underpinned by government working with business, will enable us to deliver the homes we sorely need, and which will drive productivity, boost growth and increase prosperity in every corner of the country.”
Other recommendations in the report include:
• Government should give greater flexibility to Housing Associations and increase capital spending on affordable housing
• The National Infrastructure Commission include housing as a strand within its forthcoming National Infrastructure Assessment
• Exploring the value of broadening the category of new homes that can be built on brownfield sites within the Green Belt
• Joint collaboration between new players in the market – from hedge funds to construction contractors – and established industry experts, as well as further support for innovation in the sector, such as offsite manufacturing.
The report proposes maintaining the momentum in tackling ‘systemic barriers to delivery’ and the importance of scaling up delivery of new homes and improving the availability of plots to develop on. One way mooted is to increase the pipeline of land released from unused public sector land to developers – an action which has the support of the Government, following its commitment to sell land for more than 160,000 homes by 2020 – something that the National Audit Office revealed in the first ten months of the government’s programme amounted to only 5-8% of this target – however the Accelerated Construction initiative could improve this.
In highlighting offsite manufacture as a key component of the Government’s quest to provide a new generation of housing, Legal & General Homes are highlighted. Last year, Legal & General invested heavily to deliver precision-engineered homes more cheaply and quickly through its huge modular homes construction factory in Selby. The modular cross laminated timber (CLT) units are set to provide a range of homes and living spaces from family homes to student accommodation.
“The political will to take action is there, says Josh Hardie. “So with our aspiration clear, what we now need is a plan to achieve it. If we are going to more than double the number of homes built each year, we need a step-change – not just in delivery, but in mind-set. Business as usual isn’t an option.”
For more information and to download a copy of the report, No Place Like Home: Delivering New Homes for a More Prosperous Britain visit:
www.cbi.org.uk/cbi-prod/assets/File/2016-Housing-Report(1).pdf
Source: Offsite Magazine - Issue 5
