Essay Collection: ‘Building for renewal: kickstarting the C19 housing recovery’
Building for renewal: kickstarting the C19 housing recovery
In this essay collection Localis sets, in addition to its own analysis, twenty separate views from a wide range of individual experts and sector leading organisations asking how we might use the primacy of place to direct a return to housing growth, and with it, renewal as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In our current situation, housing’s fundamental social and economic role and sheer transformative capacity to drive social change and economic growth assumes even greater significance.
‘Building for renewal: kickstarting the C19 housing recovery’ is grouped into four main sections of the role of housing in supporting prosperity for all, how sound investment can unlock latent place potential, the challenges of meeting the needs of the vulnerable and engaging with society, and the role of the planning system in creating sustainable communities.
Paul Carter, chair of the Localis C19 Housing Commission analyses the situation currently facing the housing industry in a wider historic and economic context, summaries the key learnings from among the essays and sets out some Localis recommendations for driving place-centred housing growth.
DOWNLOAD The Localis Preface and Analysis
DOWNLOAD Part A: The role of housing in promoting opportunity and prosperity for all
Looking at the role of housing in supporting prosperity for all, proposals include: ensuring that the right mix of rental and home ownership options are available (David Renard), placing key workers at the heart of the housing strategy (Paul Dossett), the Land Registry working towards allowing digital approvals to happen (Elizabeth Froude), decisive action to cut Stamp Duty and boost Help to Buy (Tony Pidgley CBE), developing mechanisms that encourage the transfer of skills from private sector companies to public bodies (Andrew Geldard), encouraging the Government to use the Spending Review to double down on ‘levelling up’ (Lawrence Morris), and ensuring the Government encourages Northern councils to boost the supply of housing land to aid in an inclusive national recovery (Nigel Wilson).
Part A The role of housing in promoting opportunity and prosperity for all
Creating amazing places that everyone can call home
Cllr David Renard, Chairman, Environment, Economy, Housing & Transport Board,
Local Government Association
A country fit for heroes? (Reprise)
Paul Dossett, Head of Local Government, Grant Thornton UK LLP
More than just the houses
Elizabeth Froude, Group Chief Executive, Platform Housing
Putting people at the heart of placemaking
Tony Pidgley CBE, Chairman, The Berkeley Group
Leadership in placemaking
Andrew Geldard, Chief Communications Officer, Willmott Dixon
Building communities – ensuring a positive legacy for those hardest
hit by COVID-19
Lawrence Morris, Policy Officer, National Housing Federation.
Building the backbone of an inclusive national recovery
Nigel Wilson, Chair, Homes for the North (H4N)
DOWNLOAD Part B: The role of investment in place in leading renewal
In essays grouped around how investment can unlock latent place potential, Darren Carter calls for a reduction of red tape in the planning process so that the delivery of new sites can be sped up. Jackie Sadek draws attention to how Homes England are leading the charge back on the re-emergence of a “master developer” type model. While Nick Fenton, Jonathan Buckwell, and Mark Curle call for the £10bn Single Housing Growth Fund to be earmarked for an immediate post-crisis stimulus for oven-ready, high employment, schemes with a particular focus on brown land and garden settlements. Finally, Mark Quinn highlights how relaxing the rules on self-invested personal pensions, by allowing a two year period in which SIPPS can directly invest in residential property, would provide a further significant stimulus to the housing industry.
Part B The role of investment in place in leading renewal
Protecting social investment
Darren Carter, Investment Director, Social Property, Cheyne Capital
Brave new partnerships
Jackie Sadek, COO, UK Regeneration
SMEs hold solution to national challenge
Nick Fenton, Kent Developers Group; Jonathan Buckwell, Developers East Sussex and Mark Curle, Essex Developers Group, South East Local Enterprise Partnership’s Housing and Development Group
Supporting and supportive investment
Mark Quinn, CEO/Chairman, Quinn Estates
DOWNLOAD Part C: The role of housing in supporting the most vulnerable and engaging with society
Proposals coming from those exploring the challenges of meeting the needs of vulnerable people and engaging younger people in planning for sustainable growth include a boost for innovative solutions already in place such as digital inclusion initiatives for the elderly (Erin Walsh, Bin Guan), localising supply chains and putting social value first when considering construction (Prof Samer Bagaeen), and a call for a new social value contract between the developer, community, and local authority (Emma Waterfall).
Part C The role of housing in supporting the most vulnerable and engaging with society
Homes for Healthy Ageing: the role of innovation
Erin Walsh Director of Built Environment and Bin Guan, Built Environment Researcher, Connected Places Catapult
Our participatory future
Professor Samer Bagaeen, University of Kent
Building trust and reaching parts others can’t: how better communications can help get the house building market back on track
Emma Waterfall, Managing Director, Cascade Communications
DOWNLOAD PART D: The role of planning in creating successful and sustainable communities
In exploring the role of the planning system in creating sustainable communities, proposals include: a true investment in place together with better resources for planning (Richard Blyth), proactive and visible support from government both in funding and ensuring that non-statutory frameworks have traction on planning decisions (Catriona Riddell), refreshing the current planning fee schedule to ensure all application types have a fee set appropriately (Andrew Taylor), supporting growth in emerging market segments by changes to national planning policy (Nick Ireland), improving understanding and engagement in planning’s potential to society through a national conversation (Iain Painting, Robin Shepherd), and extending time limits for the implementation of planning permissions (Mark Bewsey).
Part D The role of planning in creating successful and sustainable communities
Priorities for planning
Richard Blyth, Head of Policy, Royal Town Planning Institute
The role of spatial planning
Catriona Riddell, National Strategic Planning Specialist for the
Planning Officers’ Society
Kickstarting the housing industry – a masterdeveloper and housebuilder view
Andrew Taylor, Head of Planning for Countryside
Learning and planning for growth
Nick Ireland, Planning Director, Iceni Projects Limited
Earning Trust: the big role for planning in society post-COVID-19
Iain Painting, Senior Partner and Robin Shepherd, Partner at Barton Willmore
Removing planning barriers to recovery
Mark Bewsey, Planning Director, DHA Planning