Planning reforms and skills legislation welcomed

The new bills announced during the King’s Speech are a step forward to delivering necessary homes to combat the current shortages, yet a strategic approach is needed to address all areas that may stand in the way, according to TerraQuest, operator of Planning Portal.

The government recently announced its new legislative agenda via the King’s Speech, during which a reform of the planning industry and the introduction of the Skills England Bill to speed up approved applications and created a trained workforce were announced. Although the Skills England Bill does not specifically mention construction skill development, this is vital to boost the current workforce.

Over and above these two bills, a strategic approach is required to push the sectors forward to tackle the ongoing housing crisis and in turn address the third vital factor – the materials shortage.

The inaugural Market Index Report by TerraQuest, operators of Planning Portal, has shown that since 2015, over one million homes have been approved by authorities to be constructed – yet they remain unbuilt.

Analysis suggests the reasons behind this are the growing skills gap within the construction industry and the materials shortage, triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and Britain leaving the European Union.

Products such as bricks, steel lintels, gas boilers and roof tiles continue to experience longer lead times with their price rising 0.9% in July 2024, putting further pressure on contractors and house builders. High demand has resulted in construction projects being delayed or remaining unbuilt and in turn, stunting the UK’s building prospects.

To boost the economy through housebuilding, TerraQuest says the new government must implement measures to decrease waiting times for these materials or set realistic goals following the upcoming consultation on housebuilding targets.

Geoff Keal, CEO at TerraQuest, said:

“The government must address all areas of the housebuilding jigsaw including the critical element of material supplies if they hope to boost the economy. Our Market Index Report shows that the planning industry is approving homes to be built. If the construction of these properties had occurred, we would have smashed housebuilding targets for eight out of the last 10 years.”

Sir Kier Starmer is expected to review and announce new house building targets in the coming months following a consultation with industry leaders and government officials. With this, local authorities will be asked to identify areas of land suitable for housing developments to begin the process of securing planning approvals.

Geoff continued:

“If the new government wishes to build new houses for the UK population, they need to ensure that they either implement solutions to boost material supplies or take this issue into consideration when deciding what these new targets are. If they don’t, they run the risk of facing the same issues as the last government where houses are approved by planning professionals but remain unbuilt.”