tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8647966782809031279.post4128164897519076738..comments2024-03-07T20:05:33.349+00:00Comments on Urban policy and practice: Housing and planning - a week later, but has the dust settled?Dr Peter Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06308785385644187726noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8647966782809031279.post-38114171360171708282014-01-10T18:31:33.842+00:002014-01-10T18:31:33.842+00:00Sarah - I have just come across your perspicacious...Sarah - I have just come across your perspicacious post by a roundabout route. You are right to highlight the tendency to attack and tinker with the planning system which means that the true issues are missed. The Labour Party has now reignited the debate on land banking. You may be interested in my own recent blogpost - here http://thedavidbrockblog.com/?p=697. I hope you will make a submission to the Lyons inquiry.<br /><br />David BrockAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8647966782809031279.post-91398043276595247442014-01-08T19:46:23.140+00:002014-01-08T19:46:23.140+00:00Sarah,
Good to see the whole system being conside...Sarah,<br /><br />Good to see the whole system being considered and not, as too usually happens, only one part being considered in isolation. About the only big ommission seemed to be a more active role for the public sector/government but you then touched on this in one of your responses.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8647966782809031279.post-65710066249932771482013-06-28T04:06:56.608+01:002013-06-28T04:06:56.608+01:00HI,This is excellent, thank you very much.There we...HI,This is excellent, thank you very much.There were a couple that I had not seen before which I will try out.Thanks for adding this.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://app.intellobuild.com/construction-software/last-planner-system.php" rel="nofollow">Angela West</a><br />Angela Westhttp://app.intellobuild.com/construction-software/lean-construction.phpnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8647966782809031279.post-50213106526315191962012-11-17T20:33:35.002+00:002012-11-17T20:33:35.002+00:00Hi James, thanks for the positive comments (and ap...Hi James, thanks for the positive comments (and apologies for the delay in responding!). I'm glad you gained some value from it! Best wishes, SarahSarah Paynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06572463526817965523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8647966782809031279.post-32189227184377906592012-10-27T08:31:29.377+01:002012-10-27T08:31:29.377+01:00An impressive post, I just gave this to a colleagu...An impressive post, I just gave this to a colleague who is doing a little analysis on this topic. And he is very happy and thanking me for finding it. But all thanks to you for writing in such simple words. Big thumb up for this blog post!jamesmorkal65http://www.saterdesign.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8647966782809031279.post-73080158243713932512012-09-19T10:56:17.791+01:002012-09-19T10:56:17.791+01:00John,
Thanks for your interesting comments. Like...John,<br /><br />Thanks for your interesting comments. Like you, I view the growth in private renting as symptomatic of the underlying problem and very worrying that the Government seems to see it as one solution to the housing crisis. It's clear that the British population aspire to homeownership, its an innate part of the pscyhe and is coupled with the desire to live in semi-detached and detached properties in relatively rural areas. As you point out, this is having a serious knock on effect to those more vulnerable, such as those in the social sector and the first time buyers. The opportunity for the Government (and LA's) to invest in social and lower cost housing is ripe - LA's have land and so the risk of trading it is removed from the development process.<br /><br />I'm not too sure whether developers view this as a temporary blip, I'd love to be a fly on the wall in board meetings where strategic business decisions are made with banks and CEO's. I think developers are canny - they know the risks and I think they even know that we will not see a repeat of the 2000-2007 boom because there is simply not effective demand. Suppressed demand yes, but not effective demand. Hence they are being very cautious and as Colin Wiles mentions above, acting rationally in an irrational world. See Colin's contribution to the debate here: http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/home/blogs/why-wont-they-build?/6523778.blog <br /><br />I think Local Authorities have the chance (and responsibility) to drive social housing investment by allocating land for social housing development. Maybe they could employ private developers to build on licence with an agreed profit. That way, land is not traded and the risk greatly reduced. <br /><br />Best wishes, <br /><br />Sarah Payne, Sheffield. Sarah Paynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06572463526817965523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8647966782809031279.post-68261739256061893922012-09-18T22:39:42.762+01:002012-09-18T22:39:42.762+01:00Thanks, Sarah. Saved it, for future reference!
Y...Thanks, Sarah. Saved it, for future reference! <br /><br />Yes, (as per recent response to a relevant Jules Birch post): in a nutshell the business model of the private housebuilding industry needs to be realigned from land speculation to house construction. <br /><br />Similar case in greater detail (as I m sure that you are aware, but report deserves wider publicity) was made in ippr report ‘We must fix it’ by Matt Griffith (recent trading updates by Galliford Try and Barratts underscore the case made there.<br /><br />Have a look at:<br />http://www.asocialdemocraticfuture.org/Affordable_Housing_Partnership_Planning.doc<br /><br />for a model that aims to deflate land prices and hence costs and new house prices directly.<br /><br />asocialdemocraticfuturehttp://asocialdemocraticfuture.org.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8647966782809031279.post-66006526231802754392012-09-17T09:25:21.310+01:002012-09-17T09:25:21.310+01:00Sarah
I thought this was a very interesting analys...Sarah<br />I thought this was a very interesting analysis. From a housing policy perspective though, another major factor that has to be taken into account is the decline in homeownership and its implications. I think we are far from understanding how permanent this recent trend is and how it will bottom out. Similarly, the extraordinary growth in private renting has so far been at the expense of both the owner-occupied and (through right to buy) the social sectors. Is this growth sustainable and how can we turn it into investment in new housing rather than conversion of existing stock? One of the characteristics of the current development market is that it is stuck in the old model of inexorable growth in homeownership, and presumably developers simply assume that the current situation is a temporary blip. But is it?<br /><br />I also think that you dismiss social housing too quickly. There is tremendous potential for social landlords to invest, for example local authorities (since this year's move to self-financing) have potential to finance at least 200k additional homes.<br /><br />John PerryJohn Perrynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8647966782809031279.post-85055007303676457542012-09-15T10:25:26.875+01:002012-09-15T10:25:26.875+01:00This is going well and I can see scope for some co...This is going well and I can see scope for some cooperative work here! Just 2 more comments at this stage:<br />(i) Agree with you (cf Alister above) on importance of infrastructure. But it's not hard to pay for once you take the land development profit out;<br />(ii) Not happy with this approach to LEPS: better than no cross-border mechanism perhaps but they are too technocratic / undemocratic to be able to impose the will of needy areas on the resistance of nimby areas, aren't they?Michael Edwardshttp://societycould.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8647966782809031279.post-69542911636606414072012-09-14T21:23:37.895+01:002012-09-14T21:23:37.895+01:00Sarah
This is one of the best analyses I've re...Sarah<br />This is one of the best analyses I've read of our current housing crisis. Well done. It's easy to blame the house builders, but as you point out they are acting rationally in an irrational world (I can feel a blog coming on!) - perhaps what we need is a nationalisation programme for house builders or setting up a national not-for-profit house builder who could develop public land for market or affordable housing without worrying about shareholders and profits. Ultimately, this is all about land, as you say. We simply must release more land as a country to restore some level of balance to our crazy housing market. colin wileshttp://www.wilesconsulting.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8647966782809031279.post-15965814707525262062012-09-14T21:18:12.821+01:002012-09-14T21:18:12.821+01:00Alister, thanks for your thoughtful and interestin...Alister, thanks for your thoughtful and interesting comments on the blog. I am delighted to read your interpretation and see the extent to which you've applied my comments to the broader debates concerning spatial planning. Your comments on LEPS are particularly interesting and I wonder whether there is mileage in LEPs being a 'replacement' for the loss of regional planning. I do feel that regional planning is the necessary spatial scale at which housebuilding, green infrastructure and grey infrastructure should be coordinated and managed. I think your comments on constructive dialogue are at the heart of it all - for your work and for mine. Communication breeds trust and trust is key to encouraging and stimulating change in a risky work. <br /><br />Its going to be a fascinating few years for planning and housebuilding.<br /><br />Best wishes, Sarah, Sheffield. Sarah Paynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06572463526817965523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8647966782809031279.post-4339076511520840802012-09-14T21:12:49.285+01:002012-09-14T21:12:49.285+01:00Michael, thanks for responding positively to the b...Michael, thanks for responding positively to the blog and for your interesting comments regarding the development of a new system which rewards those who do the best developments. The obvious lack of commitment by housebuilders to involve themselves in better design, environmental performance, corporate social responsibility should most definitely be a policy priority and its a central theme of my research interests. These issues are extraneous to housebuilders as a) they are not reflective in the profits they make, and b) the current 'system' allows them to 'get away with' not doing it. Some tough times ahead for planners and housebuilders I think. <br /><br />Thanks for the suggestion of joining the Planners Network, I see from the website that my colleague Andy Inch is involved so I will have a chat with him in the first instance. <br /><br />And yes, discussing these issues with you would be fab, I'll certainly be getting in touch. <br /><br />Kind regards, Sarah Payne, Sheffield. <br />Sarah Paynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06572463526817965523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8647966782809031279.post-16906418531425481232012-09-14T18:08:08.064+01:002012-09-14T18:08:08.064+01:00This is a really good and thoughtful blog.
Key hi...This is a really good and thoughtful blog. <br />Key highlights for me are that <br />1. Planning represents only one component of the housing jigsaw and the governments preoccupation consequently leads to disintegrated thinking. <br />2. Rather than the planning system being broke the structure of housing provision is broken <br />3. That the daily telegraph and policy exchange debates tend to polarise the debate in a way that is unhelpful. <br />4. That there is not enough explicit understanding of risk element in house building; my view is that planners too need to experiment more to help us learn about new ways of doing things.<br />5. Need more diverse approaches to delivering housing but I still maintain that more focus is needed on ensuring we deliver the infrastructure that goes with them and which creates sustainable communities. <br />6. We need to look at housing from a regional perspective except that has been abolished and there is no strategic planning authority that can easily step into the breach. I do wonder if we should champion LEPS more; although not perfect they do provide the only current body that may take such a view and a recent spatial planning event between greater Birmingham and Solihull and Worcester LEPS identified an appetite for this. <br /><br />At the heart of my work on the rural urban fringe is the need for a more constructive dialogue. Boundaries need to be crossed and the sectoral fix overcome. In doing that we all have to put our pre-conceptions in a box and start that dialogue. <br /><br />Enjoyed reading this very much <br /><br /> Alister Scotthttp://www.bcu.ac.uk/news-events/experts-directory/alister-scottnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8647966782809031279.post-73858190567529449502012-09-14T10:58:20.151+01:002012-09-14T10:58:20.151+01:00Congratulations Sarah. I agree the media and polit...Congratulations Sarah. I agree the media and political and think tank debates mostly pit the wrong antagonists against each other and the challenge is to understand the structural craziness of the whole system. I don't however agree that we have to find a way to work with the "house builders". Instead we need to develop a new system in which the rewards go to those who do the best developments (design, quality, value for money, environmental performance) not to those who are best at buying and selling in the speculative and bubbly land/house markets. It would be good to discuss this because I'm working on that end of it. <br /><br />I do suggest you join the Planners Network http://pnuk.org.uk A group of us there are writing a manifesto for a critical re-think of it all. Some bits of it on my blog as well http://michaeledwards.org.uk and - with Bob Colenutt - on http://societycould.org.uk<br /><br />Anyway best wishes. Michael Edwards, UCLMichael Edwardshttp://michaeledwards.org.uknoreply@blogger.com