Rapleys lays out budget asks ahead of the Chancellor’s Statement next week

UK, FEBRUARY 2024 – Rapleys has outlined the main areas its experts want to see as priorities for next week’s budget relating to the residential & housing market in 2024.

Tom Spencer, Partner in Development Agency says: “I want to see the Government bringing back regional spatial strategies which helped to bridge the gap between national policy framework and those issues determined at local level. With a greater focus on what local planning authorities need to deliver, these would be a useful addition to the whole planning process at a time when more help, not less, is needed to get permissions, and development, moving. Given the constriction of the development pipeline, particularly for housing, I would also like to see a nationwide greenbelt review, with a particular focus on the Greybelt. There are any number of sites that could easily be released and brought forward with a practical and sensible application and this needs to be fast-tracked. Finally, the brownfield focus already communicated is welcomed but I would like to see further incentivisation for brownfield/town centre development delivery with more than a notional 35% delivery uplift target making it difficult for local party politics to intervene and refuse these sensible and much needed types of development.”

Mat Shenton, Partner and Head of New Homes at Rapleys, said: “I would like to see a new version of Help to Buy, or a similar Government-backed initiative to help first time buyers purchase with confidence and a nationwide deposit unlock scheme which is already in the market with a select number of developers and lenders, that is also supported by information and guidance for those in the public domain to raise awareness of it and how it works.”

Will Maby, Partner in Affordable Housing at Rapleys, said: “My team would like to see the removal of the Government’s First Homes Programme – a specific kind of discounted market sale housing – in favour of increasing the delivery of much needed, genuinely affordable housing. We believe this will make much more of an impact in bringing forward crucial housing to meet local needs. We also believe that there should be long-term rent setting put in place, providing Registered Providers with the ability to forward plan, boosting much-needed investor confidence in the sector.”

Simon Corp, Partner in Affordable Housing at Rapleys said: “I would like Central Government to release sites specifically for affordable housing but with a s106 agreement that allows grant funding and does not restrict the ability to raise private finance, to ensure they are deliverable, under some form of exceptions land release rule. It would also be helpful for clarity to be provided so that when an RP buys open market plots as ‘additionality’ and they are delivered as affordable housing, the CIL relief applies. This is something that causes stress and restricts transparency over future financial planning currently. The team also feels that given the news of a significant number of Registered Providers operating in the red currently that a protection fund of sorts is put in pace to protect the delivery of affordable units and those providing them during a challenging market environment and finally, a repairs fund should be launched to bring back inadequate empty stock to the market. This could be done specifically via s106 agreement from developers of private housing, bolstered by incentives and central funding.”

Jonathan Bernstein, Partner and Head of Public Sector Development Agency, said: “I want to see how the Government will look to incentivise and assist Local Authorities in maximising their asset base in a manner that encourages partnership with the private sector. This is key to unlocking the potential that lies within the private sector for the good of the right kind of development in the right places.”

Brittany Marsland, Associate Partner in Land & Development Project Management, added: “While the initial stages of planning highlight the importance of incorporating detailed design considerations for highways and landscaping, there tends to be a subsequent oversight on other parameters. Therefore, when detailed design is advanced, technical inconsistencies arise as the planning submission has excluded accounting for key delivery parameters, such as materials strategy and utilities. This often underpins the whole feasibility of the scheme, meaning unnecessary delays and, in some cases, having to abandon a project halfway through due to cost implications. We would like to see the Government put in place more advanced checks to ensure that planning includes these crucial stipulations as part of all detailed planning submissions upfront, which is particularly important given the lead time for utilities upgrade works can be up to 24 months, a crippling delay for housebuilders.”