INDUSTRYNEWS
Fixing our broken housing market
The white paper “ Fixing our broken housing market ” sets out a broad range of reforms that government plans to introduce to help improve the housing market and increase the supply of new homes . ( GOV . UK ) In this article , Clearview gives an overview of responses to the announcement .
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EXTRACT FROM THE SECRETARY OF State for Communities and Local Government , Sajid Javid ’ s statement on the housing white paper issued on the 7th of February 2017 :
‘ For far too long , we have not built enough houses . Relative to population size , Britain has had Western Europe ’ s lowest rate of housebuilding for 3 decades . The situation reached its nadir under the last Labour government , when in one-year work began on only 95,000 homes – the lowest peacetime level since the 1920s . Thanks to the concerted efforts of central and local government , last year 190,000 new homes were completed . But that ’ s still not enough . To meet demand , we have to deliver between 225,000 and 275,000 homes every year . In short , we have to build more of the right houses in the right places . And we have to start right now .’ ( GOV . UK )
Urban Splash discusses the potential for offsite construction as a solution …
Declaring the housing market as ‘ broken ’ the government announced a pledge to invest in the offsite construction industry . The Housing White Paper sets out the government ’ s intentions to resolve the housing crisis through a series of measures with the main solutions being ; releasing more land , making planning more accessible and increasing productivity .
Accelerating construction and increasing productivity through supporting offsite manufacturing techniques is a key objective that will act as a catalyst for change in the wider housing market .
The white paper recognised that the house building sector is less productive than the wider industry due to its slow approach to modernisation and lack of utilising efficient and faster ways of building . Reports cited within the paper suggest that through the use of modern methods of construction , homes constructed offsite can be built 30 % faster than traditional build whilst also reducing the cost by 25 %.
Throughout the report there was acknowledgement of the potential that the offsite industry has to expand - the sector is quick to respond and can add capacity at a relatively rapid rate to meet demand . At present , due to a lack of demand from housebuilders , large offsite manufacturing and installation firms tend to focus on developing hotels , student accommodation and schools . The government are proposing they will stimulate growth through their Accelerated Construction programme and the Home Builders ’ Fund - creating new opportunities for the use of modern methods of construction to encourage investors into the sector and give current suppliers confidence to expand into the housing market . It will also support the delivery of high quality , energy efficient homes through these programmes .
This will be further supported through a joint working group with lenders , valuers and industry professionals to ensure that mortgages are readily available across a range of tested methods of construction . This will include encouraging industry and lenders to develop a stronger set of core data to measure the use and performance of different offsite technologies .
With the government ’ s clear backing of the offsite sector , and the significant demonstration of innovation in recent years , it is evident that it has the potential to play a major role within the future of the housing industry .
Michael Stockdale , Joint CEO of Pulse Modular Housing , suggests innovative solutions in site selection …
Highlighting the use of modular factorybuilt homes to provide the much needed homes across England . Pulse Modular Homes is already expanding its footprint and working with both local authorities and housing associations to deliver innovative solutions in site selection – above carparks , using old banks of dilapidated garages , old gasometers and other brownfield sites .
Case study – Car Park Opportunity
Research released in January 2017 by JLL Residential Research has identified almost 10,500 urban car parks in the UK as being suitable for accommodating 400,000 homes - enough to house around one million people . More than half of these car parks are in public ownership where local authorities could quickly initiate the construction of 200,000 new homes and in many cases without the loss of any parking spaces .
18 » MAR 2017 » CLEARVIEW-UK . COM