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Call for next UK government to reform planning to help boost housing supply
{mosimageA leading campaigning group has warned that consistent deregulation and demoralisation of the UK planning system is putting the very fabric of towns, cites and the countryside at risk. In a pre-election manifesto the Town & Country Planning Association (TCPA) argues that there is a real danger that the planning system, a vital national asset, essential to the maintenance and well-being of the country, will soon be lost. In particular it is concerned that as housing supply continues to fail to keep up with demand good planning is needed more than ever. The manifesto calls for action in the first 100 days of a new government to restore the importance of planning as a key tool in delivering much needed new homes and communities. This includes taking steps such as creating a new legally defined purpose for planning based on sustainable development, the updating and effective deployment of New Towns legislation, and changing the National Planning Policy Framework to place social justice, equality and climate change at the heart of planning decisions. The manifesto additionally calls for better planning for cities and stronger measures to ensure that councils work together to meet housing need. ‘A new government must act to restore the prominence of planning as an essential element to create the new homes, communities and infrastructure that the nation so desperately needs. For the sake of our children and grandchildren, planning must be seen as a positive proactive force for good and must be placed at the centre of political debate,’ said Kate Henderson, chief executive of the TCPA. ‘At its best, planning has proved to be a powerful tool to bring forward sustainable growth, and to deliver multiple benefits to our society including certainty and confidence for businesses, democratic rights for communities and protection for our environment, heritage and biodiversity,’ she explained. ‘As we continue to battle with the nation's housing crisis, good planning is needed as never before to plan for and create the homes and communities we desperately need. However, the planning system as we knew it is being continually undermined and devalued though significant reforms and deregulation,’ she added. ‘Planning has lost all sense of the progressive social values that once lay at its core, and unless we are careful, is at risk of being destroyed altogether. The TCPA's position is simple: good planning makes better places,’ she concluded. Continue reading
UK mortgage lending off to slow start in 2015
Gross mortgage lending in the UK reached £13.4 billion in February, 9% down on both January and on last February, the latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show. This is the lowest monthly estimate for gross mortgage lending since April 2013 when lending totalled £12.4 billion. The weaker lending figures have not come as a surprise to the industry. ‘Seasonal factors tend to weigh on activity at the start of the year, but looking through these, the underlying picture appears to be stabilising,’ said CML chief economist Bob Pannell. ‘We expect lending to improve in the coming months, as employment and earnings continue to pick up and the impact of recent stamp duty reforms start to feed through,’ he added. Peter Rollings, chief executive officer of Marsh & Parsons, believes that too much should not be read into the data as 2014 was an exceptional year and a formative one with major changes to the borrowing process. He said that 2015 marks a return to more normal patterns of behaviour as the new affordability measures introduced last year become part of the normal market. ‘Lending is only just getting into its stride at the beginning of the year, and it’s also a much longer process from start to finish now, so we’ll see more approvals race through as the market heats up later in the spring,’ he pointed out. ‘Buyer finances emerge much healthier for going through a more rigorous obstacle course. First time buyers have great cause for celebration with the new Help to Buy ISAs, whittled down stamp duty, generous mortgage rates, and plenty of supply on the market. All the elements are at work to up the ante in the housing market in the coming months,’ he added. Continue reading
UK house price growth pauses, latest index shows
Average UK property prices have increased by 6.8% year on year but the growth has paused with values obtained flat lining so far this year. The latest index from haart estate agents also shows that the average price of a starter home has fallen by 2.2%, good news for first time buyers. Overall the index reveals that in February average prices fell by 0.2% to £204,355 compared with the previous month but are still up by 6.8% compared with a year ago. But in London prices are down 1% month on month to an average of £466,990 and down 4.6% compared to February 2014. However, demand is still high with 21 buyers chasing each home for sale in London and 12 potential buyers for each new property nationwide. Paul Smith, chief executive officer of haart, pointed out that new housing stock across the UK materialised in February with supply up almost 11% in a single month which is matched by a similar uplift in buyer registrations, a sign of consumer confidence in the market. ‘So far this year average house prices are showing no significant fluctuations, which is good news for affordability. First time buyers are now benefiting from a dip in the average price of a starter home by 2% annually and from broader economic factors such as low interest rates and Help to Buy incentives,’ he said. ‘Despite this promising start to 2015, the number of new home starts promised post general election by the main political parties falls well short of what is needed and we still lack a strategic long term policy to address supply,’ he explained. He believes that London’s average property prices declining is no bad thing for affordability and sentiment. ‘This is no boom and bust but the beginning of a return to normality following the peak of the market in Spring 2014. The capital’s property market is still bustling with 21 potential buyers chasing each property for sale,’ he added. Continue reading
