Social Housing Weekly - 8 July 2024

A word from us

What an election night! Having stayed up until 4.30am to watch the crimson-tide wash over the UK, I am now realising that a single missed night of sleep in one's thirties is equivalent to a full-scale bender in one's twenties. 

But how could you turn the TV off and go to bed when such monumental change was happening in front of our eyes? It was obvious from the get-go that it was a disastrous for the Conservatives and only seemed to get worse (though Reform UK's tally of 5 seats was less catastrophic than the 13 initially expected). Meanwhile Labour had a fantastic night, snapping up seat after seat, despite taking an...urm...modest percentage of the vote.

And so, after all this drama, the dust is settling on a Labour Government. In today's edition we touch on what that will mean for the housing sector and our early sense of what planning reforms could be coming down the track.

If you want a full analysis of the results, LCA's in-house team of nerds have produced a detailed briefing (email us for a copy) and a special edition of LDN. 

Harriet Shone

LCA Director

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The Monday after the Thursday before

by Peter Lord

So it is out with Gove and in with Rayner, out with plans to scrap Nutrient Neutrality laws and in with plans to recruit more planning officers. Reintroducing mandatory housing targets, a review of the Green Belt, and zero(ish)-tolerance to NIMBYs complete the headlines of the Labour government's planning policies. Nonetheless, we at Social Housing Weekly like to think the devil is in the detail and some of the detail still feels somewhat lacking. On Nutrient Neutrality, for example, the party pledged to "implement solutions to unlock the building of homes affected by nutrient neutrality without weakening environmental protections", which feels as vague as it does contradictory. The excellent Simonicity blog describes this as an "empty promise", and no wonder; the laws either provide an environmental protection by blocking housing developments, or they don't.

When is the Green Belt not green?

We are still waiting to hear more about the Government's plans for poor-quality Green Belt land, newly christened as "Grey Belt". Labour has claimed that this land, including car parks and scrubland should not be protected but the exact parameters of this Grey Belt are unclear. Perhaps more importantly, the plan would appear to miss the dual purpose of the Green Belt, as the Green Party pointed out last month "The Green Belt wasn't established only to protect nature sites - which is important - but also to prevent urban sprawl."

New-look DLUHC

Under Gove's tenure, the Housing Department, most recently dubbed the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, has been dominated by Gove's own personality and politics. It seems likely that this highly personalised approach to housing policy will continue under Angela Rayner, herself a fairly large personality. It also seems that the department will change name again. For more commentary on the frequent departmental name changes, check out Simon Ricketts' take. At the time of writing, the ministerial line-up will include Matthew Pennycook MP as minister of State for Housing and Planning and Jim McMahon MP as Ministers of State for Local Government.

Building on up

Prior to the election, Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves pledged to "hit the ground running" with increasing housebuilding from "day one", if Labour wins the General Election.

In her first official speech as Chancellor today, Reeves promised that the review of "Grey Belt" land would take place "before the end of the month" and that she would "not tolerate the status quo" of local authorities rejecting planning applications.

Housing in the headlines

Key property developer calls for emergency meeting on "housing crisis"

Head of Residential at British Land, Emma Cariaga, has called on the incoming Labour Government to convene an emergency COBRA meeting on the housing crisis, to be "ambitious from the get go". Speaking at a RICS conference, Cariaga said the framing of housing policy into a ‘national crisis’ would allow the issue to be "top of everyone’s agenda".

Stamp duty thresholds to rise 

Labour has confirmed that it will restore the stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers purchasing properties at £300,000 or above, following its temporary increase to £425,000 by the then-Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng in September 2022. The Conservative Party manifesto had pledged to make the increased threshold permanent.

Planning reforms do not solve the problems of delivery

Analysis by TerraQuest, the operator of Planning Portal, has found that a third of homes which have received planning permission since 2015 have not been built. Chief Executive of TerraQuest Geoff Keal has said the figures show that the "near-exclusive focus" on improving the planning system "misplace" the reality of delivering homes, citing high interest rates, skills and material shortages as physical barriers to delivery.

Reeves calls for third Heathrow runway and increased housing supply

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves has hinted at support for a third runway at Heathrow Airport, stating that she wants the airport to be the "European hub for travel". Speaking with The Evening Standard, Reeves said there would be "difficult decisions" for both the economy and planning, but stated that she had "nothing against expanding airport capacity" in line with "evidence including around the environment." Reeves also praised the Mayor of London for "trebling" the amount of affordable housing built in the capital, adding that a Labour Government needs to "increase the supply of homes".

Solutions for social landlords to purchase affordable housing proposed

Policy Delivery Director for Research and Impact at BusinessLDN, Jonathan Seager, has said that the new Government should reform the Section 106 system to ensure that housing associations are able to buy and manage affordable housing. Seager argues that registered providers are "not pursuing" the purchase of affordable housing units in new developments due to high build costs, regulatory uncertainty and a "convoluted planning system".

Chief Executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute, Victoria Hills, adds that the planning system requires "desperate’ investment", including in its workforce, to deliver on political promises.