The new Government must reverse the decline in smaller sites gaining planning consent to achieve the ambitious target of 1.5 million new homes by 2030.
That’s the message of our new Land Matters report which highlights the alarming downward trend in housing delivery across the UK.
The number of sites gaining planning consent has plummeted to its lowest level over the past 15 years, primarily due to the decline in approvals for smaller sites.
In addition, the number of sales outlets* is close to a 20-year low due to a lack of available sites, limiting opportunities for smaller builders while major housebuilders maintain their outlet network.
The report has been prepared by Savills on behalf of Richborough and the Land, Planning and Developers Federation (LPDF).
Key takeaways include:
- One million new homes on sites of under 250 plots will need planning consent over the next five years to support total delivery of 1.5 million homes between 2025 and 2030.
- Smaller sites are essential for reversing the downward trend in housing delivery. They are typically easier to develop and can be completed more quickly, providing homes faster.
- To support delivery, the new government must create a supportive planning environment through national policy and ministerial decisions. Local planning authorities should be proactive in granting consent for numerous smaller sites.
- This approach will help revive the declining numbers of smaller housebuilders, including regional developers, SMEs, and new entrants, thereby increasing competition and innovation in the housebuilding sector.
Paul Campbell, chief executive at Richborough, said: “This report looks again at the outlet crisis facing the housing industry. The reduction in sales outlets since 2016 was masked by artificially high sales rates underpinned by Help to Buy and cheap credit and as soon as sales rates slowed the problem was laid bare.
“A new Government will need to act quickly and boldly to arrest this decline or else we will see further M&A activity in the sector and increasing SME failures which will reduce structural capacity.
“Richborough and the land promotion sector generally are poised to significantly increase the investment into new planning applications if material and positive changes are made by the Government.”
Paul Brocklehurst, Chair of LPDF, said: “This research makes it clear how critical it is for the government to ensure that Local Planning Authorities support delivery on small and medium sites. SME builders can play a crucial role in building the homes we need over the next five years, but at present the planning system is failing to support them.”
Emily Williams, director of residential research at Savills, adds: “Our calculations indicate that consent for one million homes will be required on sites with fewer than 250 plots to support total delivery of 1.5 million homes between 2025 and 2030. By 2027/28, planning consents for these smaller sites need to be back at the level they were in 2017-20. Towards the end of the decade they need to reach even higher levels if the 1.5 million home aspiration is to be met.
“This should not be to the exclusion of large sites and new towns. Bringing forward these larger sites will provide the foundations for delivery in the 2030s, just as the large sites consented over the last five years provide the baseline for delivery over the next five. But to go beyond this baseline, it is consents on small sites that are needed.”
While emphasizing smaller sites, the report recognises the importance of large sites and new towns which are vital for long-term housing delivery beyond 2030. It also calls on local authorities to adapt to the reduced demand for Section 106 affordable homes due to financial pressures on housing associations.
Read the full Land Matters report here: Land Matters report
*A sales outlet is the presence of a housebuilder selling units on a site. Some sites may have multiple builders, thus multiple sales outlets. The sales rate is a key metric for judging the housing market’s strength.