Property industry cautiously optimistic after King’s Speech
The new government’s ambition was welcomed, but the built environment is ready for a little less conversation and a little more action, please. That was the overruling sentiment from built environment professionals from across the North.
Introducing a whopping 35 bills – including a much-anticipated planning and infrastructure legislation – the King’s Speech on Tuesday outlined the Labour government’ aspirations for the future.
However, after years of promise and lack of result – especially around planning reform – the industry was hesitant to give the speech a ringing endorsement. The proof is in the pudding, many opined.
Read on to hear thoughts from leaders at Bruntwood, Riverside, Northern Powerhouse Partnership, Hydrock, now Stantec, and more. Comments have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Ready to deliver
James Blakey, planning director at Moda: “It’s refreshing and reassuring to see planning given such a high profile in the King’s speech. We’ve been campaigning for this recognition for so long and time is now short to deliver the new homes and infrastructure we desperately need in the North and across the UK.
“Our new government has moved quickly so far and has a fantastic opportunity to deliver on its ‘change’ manifesto promise. Fast, meaningful, and detailed initiatives are now required to provide certainty to investors and operators that quality proposals can be progressed quickly.
“Government appears determined and we are ready to deliver.”
Jessica Bowles, director of strategic partnerships and impact at Bruntwood and Bruntwood SciTech: “The King’s Speech is clearly an ambitious programme and I am particularly pleased to see legislation proposed for further devolution, much-needed changes to improve our railways and planning reform, which have been holding back the growth potential of the UK for too long.
“It is crucial that this pace and ambition is now matched with execution, but this is also where the greatest challenge lies. Ministers, government departments, and local leaders must be fully aligned and prepared to think differently to ensure that we can deliver on these objectives over the coming weeks, months, and years – ambition now needs to be matched with action.”
Proper funding can make all the difference
Lynda Shillaw, chief executive of Harworth Group: “There’s lots to like in Labour’s first King’s Speech. Planning reform, regional power, future skills and a joined-up approach to infrastructure are things we’ve called for in our Blueprint for Growth. As building blocks of an emerging industrial strategy, they could provide the stability that the private sector is craving.
“The headlines have focused on housing delivery, but we also need to support creating places for emerging and sustainable industries to flourish. I was glad to see the policy document give these priorities equal prominence and its alignment to Harworth’s ongoing ambition to unlock economic growth in the regions through sustainable development.”
“To speed up development we need public sector partners to bring forward vital infrastructure and develop future-proofed skills among our labour force, so the creation of local growth plans and Skills England are promising.
“The reality is that we sometimes require central government investment, either directly in infrastructure or grants, or indirectly, to make large-scale regeneration viable – especially in the parts of the country that most need it. We aren’t expecting the spending taps to start flowing anytime soon, but in the short term need a simplification of funding arrangements to get money into the right places.”
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Planning reform is welcome…
Dave Dargan, chief executive and co-founder of Starship: “It was promising to see the emphasis on new homes and overhauling the planning restrictions dominate the King’s Speech. As part of its pledge to deliver 1.5m new homes, the new government also unveiled its ambitious plans to reform planning regulations, eliminate obstacles, and streamline the entire process.
“I eagerly await to see what developments happen in the coming months, as I am excited by the prospect of the outdated planning system being overhauled. This reform could significantly reduce the red tape and bureaucracy that often delays projects.”
Sean Keyes, chief executive of Sutcliffe: “I was delighted to see that the King’s Speech outlined the new Labour government’s strategy to achieve its target of building 1.5m houses. Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ plans to overhaul the planning system and reintroduce mandatory housing targets promise to significantly bolster the nation’s capacity to build more high-quality homes and transform living standards for hundreds of thousands of people, ensuring that everyone has access to good, quality housing as a fundamental standard.”
…but not enough
Cris McGuinness, chief financial officer at Riverside: “As one of the biggest builders of affordable housing in England, streamlining the planning system will help unpick some of the blockages which stop economic growth and prevent the delivery of much needed new homes and infrastructure.
“However, planning reform alone is not enough – as economic conditions improve the government must provide significant grant funding to deliver the social homes we need.”
“We warmly welcome the re-introduction of mandatory house building targets, but we would encourage the government to ensure these targets do not only drive investment in the South East.
“We understand public finances are tight. However, after years of uncertainty and underfunding our sector desperately needs stability so we urge the government to commit to a long-term settlement for social housing rents.”
David Cross, managing director of Sky-House: “I welcome a lot of what’s in today’s speech – particularly on planning – but it really shouldn’t detract from the here-and-now challenges facing small housebuilders like ours in helping the government build 1.5m homes over the next five years.
“We’re facing a perfect storm of rising build costs, a shortage of skilled labour, a higher cost of money and a raft of new legislation in building the quality of home that people want and politicians of all colours demand. The net result is that a number of urban schemes that were viable five years ago are simply not viable today, reducing the number of new homes that will get built.
“We see an opportunity for parts of the government’s programme to come together to solve this: supporting SME urban build programmes through either new regional growth plans or more flexible Mayoral funding.”
Colette McCormack, partner at Winckworth Sherwood: “A commitment to get Britain building is needed but an overhaul of the planning system is not the answer and will only lead to delay and uncertainty – uncertainty being the death knell of delivery.
“The planning system needs resourcing properly, we need some policy changes to support housing and ministerial statements to make crystal clear to planning authorities that they need to deliver. The message from the cabinet office today that residents will only be able to control ‘how’ not ‘if’ housing is delivered could be applied across the board.
“More money to unlock infrastructure is crucial and it is great to see an early commitment to the North in terms of Central Docks Liverpool.”
Danny Hope, regional director for the North West at Hydrock, now Stantec: “It’s clear that change is coming. Today’s speech focused on creating growth and opportunity – up and down the country.
“The North West is ready for fast-paced change, but we must be resolute on the fundamentals of sustainability, connectivity, and community to unlock potential.
“Let’s create places people actually want to live and work. Planning is often blamed for project delays, but that’s only part of the picture. Long-term underinvestment in the region’s transport and power infrastructure must be reversed. Increased devolution of power to local decision makers will help, but relies on a national level strategy to ensure limited funds are allocated in the right place.”
Findlay MacAlpine, chief executive of Preferred Homes: “Anything to speed up the delivery of housebuilding is to be welcomed however there is a blind spot around what kind of homes are needed.
“The UK has focused on sticking plaster solutions for too long and we now need to grasp the nettle. We have an ageing population and yet no local authority targets for affordable extra care accommodation. This means many older, vulnerable people are stuck in unsuitable often family-sized housing or find themselves moving into care homes prematurely.
“This is extremely costly for already cash-strapped local authorities so we need more fit-for-purpose housing to make it possible for people to move at the right time with the necessary support to live independently and happily, whilst remaining fully engaged with their local communities.”
“Following the King’s Speech, we hope revisions to the NPPF and other planning reforms will focus on these issues and not just on delivery numbers. We must prioritise affordable and specialist housing to meet the diverse needs of our population.”
Transport will transform the North…
Henri Murison, chief executive of Northern Powerhouse Partnership: “Today, the new government has recommitted to the first part of a new line that along with upgrades to Hull and Sheffield will transform connectivity across the Pennines unlocking Liverpool to Newcastle.
“From Manchester Piccadilly, we will still need further powers to complete the line into Yorkshire, as well as from Huddersfield to Bradford, this Hybrid Bill continuing is what needed to happen next in legislative terms.
“We have every confidence that the incoming government will work constructively with both civic and business leaders on this crucial agenda.”
…but getting it right will take work
Bradley Martin, partner specialising in public procurement law at Browne Jacobson: “A long-term ambition to bring rail services into public ownership is underpinned by admirable reasons, in particular to offer better services for passengers, but such a transition features numerous practical and legal hurdles.
“Britain’s rail operation is hugely complex, with Network Rail overseeing infrastructure and a number of train operating companies running services in different regions of the country.
“The government will take on responsibility for various contractual obligations with third parties, ranging from train manufacturers to caterers, while it will also have to ensure tens of thousands of people are successfully transferred from train operators to Great British Railways.
“This will present a host of complexities with pensions, salaries, benefits and working arrangements that will have fluctuated between different employers, but must now be standardised.
“One of the biggest challenges Great British Railways may then face is in driving cultural change once those train operating companies are effectively insourced back into the public sector, with the same people working under a new, joint organisational banner.”
Zeroing in on Renters’ Reform
Stewart Croft, associate solicitor at Napthens: “The Renters’ Reform Bill aims to deliver a fairer and higher quality of private rented accommodation and greater security of tenure to the tenant but there’s a risk that the grounds for possession could be abused by landlords. The Bill allows a landlord to seek possession to rent to a family member or sell the property on the basis that the property is not re-let within three months but it’s difficult to see how this will be monitored.
“As tenancies are set to become rolling periodic tenancies, with fixed terms to be abolished or rehauled, this is problematic because a tenant can give notice to quit of two months at any time. Although the Bill provides greater security for tenants, it does so to the detriment of landlords who’ll have no guarantee of a tenant remaining in the property for a fixed term.”
The green agenda cannot be forgotten
Mike Harrison, chief operating Officer of Concretene: “The urgency to act mustn’t taken as an opportunity for temporary measures and we ask the government to ensure that carbon performance and high quality of build are central to future planning consents. Support for innovation and new methods of construction – such as using nanomaterials to lower the carbon footprint of concrete – will enable us to create durable, energy-efficient homes to house people well into the next century.”
Liam Britnell, chief technology officer at Vector Homes: “As a company operating right at the intersection of housebuilding and technology, we were encouraged by the domestic policies outlined in the King’s Speech today on the government’s commitment to accelerating planning and fostering technological innovation.
“We are excited about how our new, low-carbon materials can support the government in delivering on these crucial goals.”
Devolution is the key
David Blackadder-Weinstein, strategic communications director at Turley: “It is really encouraging to see today’s King’s Speech confirm the government’s manifesto commitment to deliver new powers to combined authorities and metro mayors, including powers over planning, housing, and infrastructure.
“The government’s mission to deliver sustained economic growth provides an opportunity to spread the benefits of devolution from urban areas to their more rural neighbours. Having more combined authorities which cover more of the country will help make this happen.
“It is clear that to solve the housing, growth, and climate crises together, our cities and rural communities are going to have to cooperate more closely to build new homes, create more accessible green spaces, and deliver the renewable energy and drainage solutions that everyone will benefit from.
“The strategic planning powers earmarked to help deliver this are an essential part of the cocktail. We now eagerly await more information on exactly what those powers will involve and over what timescale they will start to influence the existing local plan process”.
Renewable energy ambitions are great – but can the infrastructure handle it?
Richard Huteson and Jonathan Harper, partners in planning at Rapleys: “We fear that a comprehensive strategy that covers energy and the infrastructure supporting it has not yet been put together.
“The grid is at capacity, it cannot take any more electricity and its infrastructure is unable to cope with distributing it either.
“In the meantime, Rapleys is working on solar farms up and down the country where planners are overcoming challenge after challenge to get consent. Again, if this was made easier thanks to a planning overhaul, then we can start moving in the right direction – but a mass overhaul of the current infrastructure in order to distribute the electricity generated is a critical and urgent requirement.”