Getting behind the ‘Building Again’ Campaign

At Stairways we are firmly behind a campaign to remove barriers and provide support to help small and medium-sized developers build more homes and help tackle the housing crisis. This blog explores the campaign and some of the key actions being called for.

What is needed to get SME’s building again? This was the question posed in a report from Pocket Living, a developer of affordable homes in London, which set out “a ten point plan to save the sector”.

The resulting campaign is urging the Government to help unlock the potential of small and medium-sized developers to end the housing crisis, with 50+ leaders in the sector coming out in support, including Barratt Developments, Berkeley Group, and a range of SMEs – Stairways among them – as well as trade bodies.

The Scale of the Challenge

According to the report “the situation facing SME housebuilders is increasingly grim and has never been worse”. There are fewer than 2,500 SME homebuilders operating in the country, down from over 12,000 in the late 1980s, a Home Builders Federation report published in 2017 found. And while in the 1980s, SMEs built 40% of new homes, this figure reduced to 23% in 2008 and now sits at just 10%.

At Stairways, SME developers are some of our most important clients – and we have longstanding successful working relationships with many. We’ve seen the challenges they have had to navigate in recent years, from the skilled labour shortage, to supply chain issues, soaring inflation and high mortgage rates, and now additional running costs with the increase in employer National Insurance contributions. Action is needed to redress the balance for these developers – and it is needed now.

A Call to Action

The report sets out ten policy recommendations for the new government to rejuvenate the SME housebuilding sector, which will in turn help them achieve their target of 1.5million new homes over the next five years.

Actions include removing barriers from the planning process, incentivising brownfield development, unlocking smaller sites for housing development, and empowering Homes England to better support SME developers.

Here are a few of the ideas set out in the report well worth sharing

Empower Homes England

Homes England, the government’s housing and regeneration agency which funds new affordable housing in England, has a critical role in providing the upfront capital smaller, and therefore more exposed, developers need as they weather the choppy waters. The report recommends Homes England provide more innovative funding solutions, with at least 15% of housing delivery to come from SMEs. It also calls for the creation of up to 25 new bespoke Homes England SME Managers, acting as the single point of contact for SMEs in that area.

Drive investment into brownfield homes

Tax reforms and changes to planning policy with a presumption in favour of development for small brownfield sites. The report also calls for a shift in policy and attitudes to allow for higher densities in built-up areas to help meet housing targets.

Create a National Public Land Portal for Small Sites

This suggested innovation, would require all public sector bodies to put forward small parcels of unused publicly-owned land for housing – with SMEs having exclusive access to the portal.

Quotas for SME Housebuilders in the Local Plan Process

Implement a quota of allocations per local plan for local SMEs to ensure that they continue to play a role in the housing market.

Helping People On and Up the Housing Ladder

Changes to planning law, refining housebuilding targets and requiring local planning authorities to forecast and act on housing needs for older people in their area, in order to increase the provision of specialist housing for older people. This would better meet the needs of our aging population while making it easier for people to move on and up the housing ladder.

Appoint Chief Planning Officers in every Local Planning Authority

These experienced accredited planners would be responsible for ensuring decisions are made in accordance with the Local Plan. The report also suggests taking a different approach to planning committees, with only the very largest or most-contentious applications are referred to committee, leaving planning officers to decide the majority.

This well considered campaign represents a critical opportunity to rejuvenate the vital SME housebuilding sector, addressing the barriers that have stifled its growth and potential for decades.

At Stairways, we strongly support these calls for change. SMEs are essential to tackling the housing crisis, creating vibrant communities, and diversifying the housing market with innovative, locally focused developments. By working together as an industry, we hope policymakers will hear us and act on these recommendations.