Housing is instrumental in the country’s economic, social, and environmental well-being and the new government has put it at the heart of its policy agenda. In July, Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, announced ambitious plans to “get Britain building again” – to the tune of 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament.
However, this is no easy task. Governments for the past several decades have been trying, and failing, to deliver large numbers of new homes. How we make sure these new homes are affordable and sustainable, while also retrofitting existing properties will be a challenge. So the question is, what can the built environment do to help?
These questions will take centre stage at a panel discussion organised by the UK’s largest professional bodies in the built environment at the 2024 Labour Party Conference on Monday 23 September.
The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) will discuss with the Labour Party exactly how we can deliver the high-quality, sustainable homes we need.
A planning system that gives confidence to developers and investors is urgently required. Given the planning system sets the context for development and enables the conditions for a sustainable and healthy built environment, it is encouraging to see the Government place a much-needed emphasis on strategic planning. Which is vital to deliver more coherent – not piecemeal – urban expansions by integrating new housing with transportation, energy, and public services.
The upcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill and changes announced to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), including the importance of Local Plans, are also positive steps to reforming our planning system. However, success hinges on ensuring that local authority planning departments are adequately resourced to implement and manage these changes effectively.
RTPI’s State of Profession report shows a quarter of planners left the public sector between 2013 and 2020. The chronic lack of public sector resourcing has become a concern amongst planners, with 82 per cent of local authority planners saying that their employer had difficulties hiring planners in the last 12 months.
RIBA’s Future Trends survey shows that delays in processing planning applications by Local Authorities have caused project delays. In April 2023, 22 per cent of projects were abandoned in the last three months, compared to 7 per cent in 2021.
It is heartening, however, to see in the latest RICS Construction Market Survey, that although planning was noted as a constraint, respondents were hopeful that Government planning announcements and changes will see a rise in residential workloads, with private residential and non-residential sectors expected to grow. We must also look to retaining the next generation of planners. Some steps are already being taken, with the RTPI supporting the Planning Skills Fund, a new five-year industry programme to increase skills and capacity in Local Planning Authorities across the UK. The programme will see at least one hundred new planners with a guaranteed two-year job at a Local Planning Authority.
However, quantity cannot come at the expense of quality. Design expertise will also be crucial to the success of Labour’s programme to deliver new towns across the country.
These new settlements must go beyond simply providing homes; they must be well-designed, well-connected, inclusive, and accessible—vibrant places where people can enjoy a high standard of living. Building the right homes in the right places, which also meet our affordable and social housing needs, is integral to creating a long-lasting built environment that works for everyone.
RICS has recently published its ‘Delivering the Homes We Need: actions for change’ report, which looks at the specific opportunities and solutions to unlock housebuilding.
The new government has outlined ambitious goals to lead on climate action, which will require a significant reduction in the carbon footprint of the built environment.
As a sector, we have developed the forthcoming UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard, a key cross-industry effort to robustly verify that built assets are net zero carbon. But Government needs to play its part. We need consistent assessment and reporting of whole-life carbon, supported by clear reduction targets. This must be embedded in regulation.
The new government must be realistic about a big obstacle the built environment is facing – the shrinking skills base and the ageing construction workforce.
The launch of Skills England, was a welcome acknowledgement of this issue and a promise to focus on shrinking the skills gap across all sectors – construction included is positive.
According to the Construction Industry Training Board’s most recent Construction Skills Network Industry Outlook, an extra 251,500 workers will be needed to meet predicted demand. Specific acute skills gaps exist in many of the areas crucial to the delivery of new homes, including electricians, project managers and labourers, amongst others.
While the task of filling these gaps seems enormous, there are solutions which could be implemented. For example, these could include reforming the currently ineffective apprenticeship system and its funding mechanisms.
At the same time, the new government must also ensure the correct incentives are in place to drive young people to consider a career in the built environment – the introduction of a Built Environment GCSE which featured prominently in CIOB’s Manifesto for the Built Environment alongside other possible solutions to addressing the persistent skills gap, such as a reform to the current apprenticeship levy system and encouraging a more diverse intake of construction professionals.
Among all this talk of new builds, Labour must not forget there are already 30 million existing homes that need to be healthy, sustainable, and safe. The new government has hit the ground running, recognising the importance a vibrant housing market has on our growth ambition, and now we must collaborate to deliver on this.
Professionals in the built environment have the knowledge, expertise, and experience to deliver the sustainable, high-quality homes our country needs, but it is crucial that we work with the government in order to do so.
You will be able to find more details about the event in the upcoming Labour Party Conference Fringe Guide including the time and location.
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