A review of todays Budget which includes plenty for those of us working in housing, planning and development to reflect upon.
The Chancellor announced a range of measures intended to stimulate housing delivery, support first-time buyers, encourage investment and remove barriers facing developers. There is certainly much to welcome, but the real question is how much difference these announcements will make on the ground.
The additional £1.5 billion for social and affordable housing, taking planned investment over the next decade to more than £40 billion, is significant. Alongside measures to improve council borrowing and changes to VAT on land sold to registered social housing providers, it should provide further opportunities to deliver much-needed homes. However, funding alone cannot overcome the challenges of securing suitable sites, planning permissions, infrastructure and development viability.
The new £4.7 billion Your First Home scheme, intended to help around 70,000 first-time buyers, is another interesting development. Supporting people onto the housing ladder is important, but increasing demand must go hand in hand with increasing supply if we are to see a meaningful improvement in housing delivery.
I was particularly interested in the proposed exemption from Biodiversity Net Gain requirements for smaller residential brownfield sites of up to 1.5 hectares. Those involved in bringing forward smaller developments will appreciate how quickly planning and environmental obligations can affect viability. While environmental improvements remain important, ensuring requirements are proportionate to the scale of development is equally necessary.
The commitment to no further major changes to building regulations during this Parliament, other than those required for safety, may also provide some welcome certainty for an industry that has experienced considerable regulatory change.
Closer to home, the continuing devolution agenda is another interesting area. The proposed Wessex arrangements could have significant implications for Hampshire, Dorset and the wider South, particularly around strategic planning, infrastructure investment and housing delivery. Alongside wider measures on business rates, regeneration and greater financial powers for mayors, there is an opportunity for a more coordinated approach to growth. However, clear responsibilities, adequate resources and effective local engagement will be essential.
Developers have questioned with me today if the Government is doing enough to address the practical difficulties of delivering development.
Through my work with developers, planning consultants, local authorities and communities, I regularly see the considerable time, resources and investment required to bring proposals forward.
Planning delays, infrastructure constraints, viability challenges, political considerations and local concerns all play their part. None of these can be resolved by funding announcements alone.
That is not to diminish the importance of today's measures. Additional investment, greater certainty and efforts to remove unnecessary barriers are all welcome. However, national policy must be matched by the resources, capacity and practical decision-making needed locally.
Ultimately, the success of today's Budget, from a housing and development perspective, will be judged less by the scale of the announcements and more by whether they translate into more homes being built.