Public Land For Around 128,000 Homes Forecast For Release

MHCLG has confirmed that two-thirds of councils in England were forecasting the release of land for approximately 128,000 homes by the end of this month. The Public Land for Housing programme (2015-2020) aimed to identify and release surplus central government land with capacity for at least 160,000 homes in England by March 2020. Since the start of the programme to end June 2019, departments had sold 508 sites with capacity for c48,000 homes. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/public-land-for-around-128000-homes-forecast-for-release-within-weeks/

Homes On Former Public Land Will Not Be Affordable

Less than 3% of homes to be built on public land that has been sold to developers will end up being for genuinely affordable social rent. The left-leaning New Economics Foundation (NEF) think-tank said the release of figures published by the government was welcome, but the data revealed a poor outlook for those in need of affordable housing. Its analysis showed that of plans for 131,000 homes on public land sold since 2011, just under 20,000 would be deemed affordable and 3,410 would be let for social rent. Read more on Housing Today.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/homes-on-former-public-land-will-not-be-affordable-think-tank-claims/5104378.article

Housing: East Midlands – Parliamentary Written Answer

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many homes are planned to be built on public land in the East Midlands under the Public Land for Housing Programme 2015-20 by 2020.

Kit Malthouse: As of March 2018, there are around 1,800 homes planned to be built in the East Midlands which have been released under the Public Land for Housing Programme 2015-20. Departments are looking to dispose of land in all regions of England by March 2020.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2019-05-16/255386

Government To Miss 2020 Housing Target By Five Years, Says Watchdog

The Government is likely to miss its 2020 housing target by at least five years, a watchdog has said. A National Audit Office (NAO) report has found the sale of public land is not expected to have released enough space for even half the target number of homes. Instead of 160,000 homes, the Government expects to be able to have space for just 65,000 – 41% of the target – and does not expect to reach the 160,000 target until after 2025. Although the Government has so far failed to find enough land to build the promised homes, the report said, it will still meet a target to raise £5 billion through the sell-off of public land. Read more on the AOL website.

https://www.aol.co.uk/news/2019/05/02/government-to-miss-2020-housing-target-by-five-years-says-watch/?guccounter=1

Homes England To Match Developers And Sites Through New Portal

Homes England has launched an interactive tool which it hopes will match builders to plots of public land which are ready for homebuilding. Almost 2,500 acres of land ready for development will be made available to house builders to purchase via a new online platform called Land Hub. In total, 148 sites will be made available through Land Hub in the next 18 months. Each site will be listed with details of its planning status, size and proposed use, such as residential, industrial or commercial. Find more details on the Homes England website.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homes-england-land-hub

Brokenshire Goes Public With New Housing Proposals

The government is ready to release £450m to speed up delivery of homes on sites of surplus public sector land and encouraging pace and modern methods of construction as a part of the building process. But such funding will no longer be able to use the money for ‘unjustified’ new leasehold houses. Announced by communities secretary, James Brokenshire, other measures include the new proposals for three-year minimum tenancy term and the launch of a new £100m Community Housing Fund, to deliver affordable housing tailored to local needs, putting communities in the driving seat. Read the full statement on the Parliament website.

https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-07-02/HCWS818

Landlords Call For PRS On Public Land

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) is calling for unused and abandoned plots of public sector land to be redeveloped as new sites for PRS homes. All projections are that the demand for homes in the private rented sector will continue, with predictions that 25% of all homes will be in the PRS by 2021. The association would also like to see controversial cuts to mortgage interest relief axed, saying it would be the best way for the government to support the country’s small-scale landlords. In its submission, ahead of the 2017 budget on November 22nd the association said the government should follow the lead of Ireland by scrapping the changes. Read more of the RLA’s views on the Budget on the RLA website.

Housing: Construction – Parliamentary Written Answer

John Healey:  To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the oral contribution of 28 November 2016, Official Report, column 1229, who the intended recipients are of the Government's £25 billion investment; how much each of those recipients will receive; and on what basis that funding will be granted.

Gavin Barwell: The Government’s planned £25 billion investment in housing means we expect to double, in real terms, our annual capital spending on housing over this Parliament. The funding includes:

·        £7.1 billion to deliver affordable housing.

·        £2.3 billion to deliver starter homes across the country to support first time buyers.

·        £8.6 billion to extend the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme to 2021 which will help more people take steps towards owning their own home.

·        £2.3 billion for a new Housing Infrastructure Fund which will be allocated to local government on a competitive basis. The Fund will provide infrastructure targeted at unlocking new private house building in the areas where housing need is greatest.

·        £3 billion for the Home Building Fund, including £1 billion for loans of up to five years and aimed at SMEs and custom builders. £2 billion of the fund is available for larger sites and infrastructure with a much longer loan period.

·        £1.7 billion of funding to pilot ‘accelerated construction’ to speed up house building on surplus public sector land

'Slow Start' For Homes On Public Land Plan

The government has made a "slow start" towards its promise to release enough of its surplus land to build 160,000 new homes by 2020, MPs say. The Public Accounts Committee said progress had been made but warned that many sites earmarked were still in use. After a year of the programme, the government had disposed of 5% of the required land, it said. The government said it had "acted quickly to free up public land", enabling 100,000 homes since 2010. In its report, the Public Accounts Committee said the government had improved on a previous scheme by monitoring the number of homes built as a result of the land sales and setting out each department's responsibilities. Read more on the BBC website.

Help Councils Unlock Massive Potential Of Community-Led Builders

The Government could unlock the supply of tens of thousands of new homes a year from small, self, custom and community builders, an inquiry has heard. The New Sources of Supply inquiry, part of the National Housing Taskforce, met at Parliament to hear about:

* Releasing more public land

* How more private land could be released by thousands of owners

* The need for seed-corn finance to take new providers through to the point where commercial lenders will be willing to lend to them, including de-risking projects.

* The role that enabling organisations can play, both in helping local authorities to put in place the right policies and procedures, and to support new providers to start up and grow.

Read more on the 24housing website.

CLG To Publish Data On Public Land Homes

Sajid Javid has committed to publishing figures showing the number of homes built on former public land, following stinging criticism from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Melanie Dawes, permanent secretary for the CLG, told the committee of MPs that a figure would be produced and published for homes built in land disposal programmes. Last year, the committee attacked the CLG for not monitoring homes built on land sold by government departments, accusing the department of “wishful thinking dressed up as public policy”. Addressing the committee, Ms Dawes said the new ministers, led by communities secretary Mr Javid, had prioritised monitoring and publishing figures. Read more on Inside Housing.

20 Ways To Tackle The Housing Crisis

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has set out its key recommendations for dealing with the UK’s dire housing crisis. With a new government and the leave result of the EU referendum, it’s more vital than ever to ensure design quality isn’t comprised as we ramp up the construction industry to keep Britain’s economy growing and build much needed new homes. The new policy document, ‘Housing Matters: #20ways to tackle the housing crisis’, advocates better use of public resources and public sector land, more locally-made decisions, greater focus on good design, increased support for new types of housing development, sustainable and resilient homes and a more transparent housing market. Download a copy of the recommendations from the RIBA website.

50% Of New London Brownfield Housing To Be Affordable

Sadiq Khan, the Labour candidate in May's London mayoral election, has said 50% of new housing on public land will be affordable if he is elected. A register of public land recently found 40,000 sites in London could be developed delivering 130,000 homes. Mr Khan said Boris Johnson had sold off 400 acres of public land without creating enough affordable homes. The Mayor's office said the 400 acres sold would deliver 50,000 new homes with 31% classed as affordable. Read more on the BBC website.

Just 200 Homes Have Been Built On Public Land Sold Off By The Government

Just 200 homes have been built on public land sold off by the Government over the last five years, new figures have revealed. Despite the land having a capacity for 109,000 homes, the only record of any homebuilding points to a fraction of them being actually constructed, MPs on the Public Accounts Committee heard. The statistics came just weeks after David Cameron pledged to build hundreds of thousands of homes every year, as he battles to make housing a key legacy of his premiership. Shadow Communities Secretary John Healey told HuffPost UK: "As usual on housing, the Prime Minister has promised big but delivered little". Read more on the Huffington Post website.

Government Puts Hundreds Of Acres Of Land Up For Sale

The government has published details of 600 acres of surplus public sector land as part of its drive to deliver tens of thousands of new homes and boost local growth. Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said it was further proof that the government was getting the country building again and urged developers to seize the opportunity and build the homes hard-working people want and deserve. The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has more than 80 public land sites for sale and will bring a further 40 more sites to market over the next 18 months, providing a boost to local economies and a significant return to the taxpayer.  It is estimated these sites will support more than 5,000 homes as well as land for industry and business. Over 20% of the sites already have outline or detailed planning permission. Read more on the CLG website.

Associations Given Head Start On Land Bids

Housing associations have become eligible for a two-month head start over private sector competitors when bidding for public land. An “unexpected but welcome” side effect of the reclassification of associations as public bodies last year means they have a new special standing, enabling them to bid for developable public land. The Cabinet Office has confirmed housing associations are now able to use a 40-working-day window before land disposed of by government departments is advertised on the open market. The government has committed to release enough public land to build 160,000 new homes between 2015 and 2020. Read more on Inside Housing.

Government Announces Plan To Build 10,000 New Homes On Public Land

The Government is to directly commission the building of 10,000 new homes on public land as part of a “radical” new plan to build at a faster rate using smaller companies. Rather than waiting for major construction firms to work their way through the government’s long list of housebuilding projects, the scheme will see smaller businesses take on less extensive sites that have already have planning permission. The policy will be backed by an extra £1.2 billion to prepare brownfield sites for the building of 30,000 starter homes - available to first time buyers under 40 for at least a 20 per cent discount - over the next five years. Read more on the Independent website.

Public Land For Sale with Planning Permission

Billions of pounds worth of public land and buildings could be sold off with planning permission already granted to solve the housing crisis, David Cameron will announce today. In a major speech ahead of the spending review the prime minister will outline plans to cut waste, sell off government assets and merge public services as Ministers attempt to save cash. It comes ahead of a round of deep spending cuts to government departments - some as high as 40 per cent.  Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

Public Land for Housing Target Exceeded By the HCA

The Homes and Communities Agency has already exceeded its contribution to government’s target to release public land with capacity for 100,000 new homes; and expects to exceed it further by the end of March. As at the end of February, the agency had released land with capacity for 18,307 new homes, across 119 individual sites, against a target of 17,727. The HCA’s contribution – the second largest of any public body – has helped government to exceed its target of land for 100,000 homes, early and by more than 3,000 homes. Of the sites released by the HCA, 48 have already seen development start on site, to support delivery of over 5,600 homes. Read more on the HCA website.

9,000 Midland House Plots 'Sat On' By HCA

More than one third of land held by the HCA is in the Midlands – meaning it is sitting on almost 9,000 housing plots. The agency has 1,500 acres of public sector land across the country, of which 596 acres are in the Midlands. The data was unveiled on CBRE’s Regional Land Report and a spokesman said there was major pressure on the agency with 80,000 homes needed in Birmingham by 2031. Typically, 15 houses are built to every acre, which means that the HCA in the Midlands is sitting on around 8,940 housing plots. Read more on the Birmingham Post website.