Addressing attendees of the UK Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF), Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Angela Rayner urged local partners to “back, build, invest, and succeed” in support of the Government’s ambitious 1.5m new homes target.

Although the target is unlikely to be achieved, the Labour Government has inherited a significant challenge from the last government, whose final year in office created supply barriers and forward planning issues.

For example:
• Resourcing and operational challenges at the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), delaying up to 800 high rise projects.
• The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill (LURB) needed to be unpicked and Local Planning Authorities (LPAs), particularly those who used LURB to reduce their housing targets, will need to reassess their allocations, or write new local plans.
• Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) created many legal and knowledge challenges, while making some housing developments altogether unviable.
• Fourteen years of policies which grew big builder market share and harmed small and medium sized housebuilders has left the Government exposed when large site developments slow or end.
• The cost of building has spiralled out of control with 13 taxes and regulatory costs in the last five years.