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Business News Wales
2 days ago
- Business
- Business News Wales
Planning Reform Is Vital for Wales' Housing Future
The two governments in Westminster and Cardiff Bay have often taken very different approaches to housing and planning. While the Labour Government in England has pressed ahead with ambitious planning reforms, the Welsh Government has, until now, largely avoided such changes. Could this be about to change? There appears to be a growing recognition in Cardiff Bay that planning reforms will be needed to deliver the Welsh Government's target of 20,000 social rented homes as well as its broader housing ambitions. For instance, the First Minister, Eluned Morgan, has made speeding up planning a top priority, and a consultation earlier this year outlined plans to increase Local Planning Authority (LPA) performance and resources. The recently released Affordable Housing Taskforce report is the latest sign of a positive shift in sentiment and sets out a series of ambitious proposals for reforms to both national planning policy and the planning process. Many of the recommendations bear similarities to measures already underway in England through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill and revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Will the Welsh Government seize the opportunities the Taskforce has set out? Affordable Housing Taskforce Chaired by backbench Member of the Senedd (MS) Lee Waters, the Taskforce aimed to identify both short- and long-term barriers to Affordable Housing delivery. HBF submitted written evidence and met with Waters to provide input. The context of the Taskforce's work is extremely challenging. Housing supply levels in Wales are falling year-on-year, and in 2023-24 just 4,771 new homes were completed – the second-lowest year on record and far below the peak of over 9,000 new homes in 2006-07. The home building industry is a major player in Affordable Housing provision, delivering 45% of all new affordable homes between 2021 and 2023 via Section 106 (S106) agreements – and so making a significant contribution to the Welsh Government's 20,000 social homes target. This is an important and often overlooked point, as with the delivery of affordable units so closely tied to private development, any fall in market housing delivery inevitably reduces the number of S106 Affordable Homes coming forward. Constraints on housing delivery previously identified To unlock housing delivery across all tenures, we have consistently highlighted several key constraints on development in Wales: • Time-expired Local Development Plans (LDPs) which contain unviable and undeliverable housing allocations.• Delays relating to statutory consultee responses and SuDS Approval Bodies (SABs).• Under-resourced Local Planning Authorities (LPAs). • No requirement for councils to calculate a housing land supply since Technical Advice Notice 1 (TAN1) was revoked in 2020, making it very difficult to progress sites which are not allocated in LDPs. Taskforce recommendations The Taskforce's recommendations reflect many of these concerns. For instance, it recommended that land identified as suitable for housing in LDPs should have a presumption towards development. If implemented, this could be transformational and help stop allocated sites from being delayed or even refused once an application is submitted. However, there must be accompanying incentives for LDPs to be kept up to date in the first place to ensure an adequate supply of deliverable allocated sites. Many of the Taskforce's other recommendations are squarely aimed at addressing the key causes of planning delays, such as proposing that LPAs no longer wait for statutory consultees past their response deadlines and establishing multidisciplinary 'development teams' within councils to resolve delays – reflecting England's 'New Homes Accelerator' teams and statutory consultee reviews. The Taskforce also called for greater delegated powers for planning officers on smaller schemes, raising the major development threshold to 50 dwellings, and introducing a national scheme of delegation, all of which could significantly accelerate housing delivery and support SME home builders. What next? Of course, while many of the Taskforce's recommendations reflect those included in England's Planning and Infrastructure Bill, Wales' approach to housing is and will rightly continue to be distinct from that in England. For instance, it is extremely positive that the Help to Buy Wales scheme remains in place, providing vital support for first-time buyers and confidence for industry, while no such support scheme is in place in England. Furthermore, the Welsh Government's policy priority continues to be Affordable Housing, whereas in England, there is a greater focus on a general uplift in supply of all housing tenures. However, despite these differences, both governments now recognise the urgent need to deliver more homes and speed up planning. But how many of the Taskforce's recommendations will the Welsh Government implement – and when? It is positive that the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Jayne Bryant, has accepted the recommendations that fall to her and has set up an implementation group to oversee them (although the recommendations related to planning fall under a different minister). Some recommendations could be implemented relatively quickly, while on the other hand, many of the more systemic recommendations, such as a presumption towards development for land identified in the LDP, would require new legislation and consultation, and so are unlikely to be implemented soon. As a result, with the next Senedd election due in May 2026 and the possibility of a Reform or Plaid Cymru-led government, some of the more ambitious recommendations are at risk of being delayed or shelved. What role can HBF play in these debates? Looking ahead to next year's Senedd elections, HBF is actively seeking responses from home builders on what changes the next Welsh Government can make to planning and housing policy to further support the industry, and we will continue to push for changes to boost housing delivery of all tenures in the years ahead.
Business News Wales
3 days ago
- Business
- Business News Wales
Hugh James Planning Team Marks 'Transformational' Year of Growth
Top 100 UK Law Firm Hugh James is marking a 'significant milestone' in the evolution of its planning practice. Since the appointment of Alex Madden as Partner and head of planning and environmental in July 2024, the planning team has grown in both size and scope. The firm says it now has new clients, complex projects, and key hires under its belt. 'It's been an action-packed 12 months,' Alex said. 'We've supported the firm's commercial property team on standout deals like Rockwool's new manufacturing base at Peddimore and Pobl's land acquisition at Cardiff's Plas Dŵr. We've also facilitated critical conversations around housing delivery in Wales, including a roundtable with Lee Waters MS focused on unlocking social housing.' The team now includes Senior Associate, Hannah Mannion, who specialises in energy and renewables, and soon to be assistant solicitor Ben Bowen who will qualify in September 2025. The team's growth over the past year has significantly boosted their capacity to support the firm's national housebuilder client base across both contentious and non-contentious work, it said. The introduction of mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) for certain developments, updates to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) – including the new 'grey belt' classification – and proposed legislative reforms via the Planning and Infrastructure Bill all signal an increasing demand for commercial planning advice, said the firm. Further changes are in the pipeline, with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) publishing a working paper proposing reforms to site thresholds in the planning system to better support housing delivery across different types of sites and launching a consultation on proposed reforms to planning committees. Defra is also consulting on BNG implementation for NSIPs and minor, medium and brownfield developments. Alex believes these developments only underscore the importance of having a strong, agile legal team in place. 'Our expansion means we're not just meeting our clients' needs – we're anticipating them,' he said. 'We're now able to offer a cradle-to-grave service that ensures continuity, clarity and strategic input at every stage of a project. That's a win-win for clients new and old.' The team is advising on significant residential schemes in the South West. These include the landmark Selwood Garden Community comprising 1,700 homes, a major mixed-use development of around 400 units at Nailsea within the Green Belt, and a residential-led scheme at Trull delivering 125 new homes. Recent client wins include Wain Estates, Wain Homes, and Land Value Alliances. This strategic growth reflects Hugh James' wider vision for its planning and environmental team, and delivers on the ambitions set out when Alex was first appointed, the firm said. 'We knew that planning and environmental law was becoming a bigger priority for our clients,' said Alex. 'That's why we invested in building a market-leading team, and now we're delivering on that promise.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
OECD downgrades forecasts for UK growth as Trump tariffs hit world economy
The stuttering UK economy will stay stuck in the slow lane for the next 18 months as the world struggles to cope with the fallout from Donald Trump's trade wars, Downing Street was warned today. The Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a club of wealthier countries, forecast in its latest update that the UK's economy will grow by just 1.3% this year and 1% in 2026. That represents a downgrade from previous forecasts of 1.4% and 1.2% and suggests that Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves will have failed to reignite growth - a key Labour pledge - by the time the time they reach the halfway point to the next general election. In its latest outlook report officials at the Paris based OECD said: 'Adverse effects from heightened trade tensions and uncertainty on business sentiment and consumer confidence will significantly weigh on growth. 'The drag on external demand, private consumption, and business investment is projected to more than offset the positive effects of last autumn's budgetary measures on government consumption and investment.' The OECD report flagged particular concern about the state of the UK's stretched public finances warning that the Chancellor's 'very thin' fiscal buffer provide minimal protection against future economic shocks. The report said:'The state of the public finances is a significant downside risk to the outlook if the fiscal rules are to be met. 'Currently very thin fiscal buffers could be insufficient to provide adequate support without breaching the fiscal rules in the event of renewed adverse shocks.' The report recommends that the Government should implements ' targeted spending cuts, including closing tax loopholes' alongside tax raising measures such as a shake up of council tax to reflect current property values.' The OECD also urges ministers to crack on with the new National Planning Policy Framework 'to unlock infrastructure projects and housing development.' Globally growth is forecast to fall to 2.9% this year and next as the impact of higher US tariffs crash around the world economy. Global GDP has grown faster than 3% in every year since the pandemic. Growth in the world's biggest economy, the USA, will be worst hit, slumping from 2.8% last year to 1.6% this year and 1.5% in 2026. President Trump has climbed down from some of his initial 'Liberation Day' protectionist threats but the average US tariff rate is still on course to shoot up from 2.5% to 15%, the highest since the Second World War. Kathleen Brooks, research director at investment platform XTB, said: The OECD slashed its growth forecast for global GDP growth to 2.9% this year and next, down from 3.1% and 3% respectively. 'It blamed trade barriers, and tighter financial conditions for the downgrade. 'Its forecast for US growth was also slashed to 1.6% for this year, and 1.5% for 2026. This is down from its previous forecast of a 2.2% growth rate. The OECD said that weakness in the US, Canada and Mexico is to blame for the downgraded global growth forecast, with smaller downgrades for other countries. The OECD's inflation outlook may also spook investors. The OECD revised down its global inflation forecast to 3.6% from 3.8%. However, it revised its inflation forecast for the US to 3.2% for 2025, from 2.8% previously. The OECD also said that there is a risk of US inflation surging to 4% by the end of this year. Since President Trump wants the US to become a manufacturing powerhouse, could the US end up exporting inflation to the rest of the world?'
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Solihull homes plan with 100 per cent affordable housing revealed
A proposal to build new affordable homes in Solihull has been submitted to council planners. Applicant Strategic Land and Property - the team which oversees projects on Solihull Council-owned land - lodged plans to build the homes on land in Rowood Drive with planners last month. The application for the land, one mile north of Solihull town centre, is for 33 dwellings with open space, new internal road layout and car parking. READ MORE: Solihull Council elects first female leader Get breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp The application is for a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom properties with the majority planned for the site one-bedroom maisonettes and three-bedroom homes. Other matters such as layout, scale, landscaping and appearance of the dwellings would form a 'reserved matters' application which would be submitted if outline planning permission is granted. A planning statement from Cushman and Wakefield, the agent for the applicant, said: 'The site was previously used by (Lode Heath) school, with no public access, but is no longer functioning as sports or recreational provision and hasn't done so for over ten years. 'More recently pedestrian access has become open and the site has been used by members of the public for dog walking and informal recreation. 'The site is not adopted public open space and is maintained by the school. 'Apart from some of the boundary trees, the existing site consists mainly of scrubby grassland and what appear to be a few self-set trees to the Rowood Drive boundary - that reflects the lack of historic maintenance on the site. 'It should be welcome the planning application is proposing to maximise the affordable housing at Rowood Drive. 'The proposed development will deliver 100 per cent affordable housing, well over the local plan requirement of 40 per cent affordable from residential sites, and this should be considered positively. 'The development will provide affordable homes to help meet local need. 'The proposal complies with the development plan and the National Planning Policy Framework and planning permission should be granted.' A consultation is now underway with a closing date for submissions of June 4. To view the plans and submit a comment search for application PL/2025/00795/MAODW at
Observer
30-04-2025
- Business
- Observer
Construction output drops despite planning reforms
Construction activity in the UK has suffered a further decline and confidence is low despite Minister Angela Rayner's planning reforms getting approval from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Rayner's Ministry of Housing is introducing broad changes to planning rules as it hopes to deliver the UK's construction sector an extra boost. Its planning reforms have also won the approval of the fiscal watchdog, which upgraded growth forecasts for 2026 and the years thereafter. But optimism is yet to spread to construction firms, which have seen the fastest reduction in employment numbers in nearly five years, according to S&P Global's purchasing managers' Index. The PMI showed that activity has seen a downturn for the third month in a row as it posted a figure of 46.4 for March, below the 50-figure benchmark that indicates an overall increase in output compared to the previous month. Confidence across the sector also fell to its lowest level since October 2023 as the UK's poor economic outlook has weighed down on business prospects. Civil engineering was the weakest sub-sector as the rate of contraction was at its fastest pace since October 2020. Economics director at S&P Global Tim Moore said construction at large was facing headwinds from delayed decisions on major projects. He said: 'March data highlighted a challenging month for UK construction companies as sharply reduced order volumes continued to weigh on overall workloads.' Spiralling employment costs, exacerbated by Chancellor Rachel Reeves' £25bn national insurance tax raid, are also taking a hit on the sector. 'A lack of new projects, alongside pressure on margins from rising payroll costs, led to hiring freezes and the non-replacement of departing staff in March,' Moore said. 'The net result was the fastest pace of job shedding across the construction sector for nearly four-and-a-half years.' The government is relying on the sector to help it achieve its target of building 1.5m homes in the next four years. It has also made significant investments in national infrastructure projects central to its mission to deliver growth. But the latest data on construction will send a warning to government officials who are feeling buoyant after planning reforms have gained credibility. In the Spring Statement, Reeves acknowledged that she will no longer be able to meet the government's manifesto pledge to build 1.5m homes by the end of this parliament, pointing to the OBR downgrading cumulative net additions to UK housing stock to 1.3m. Nevertheless, Rayner's National Planning Policy Framework was the one bright spot in an otherwise bleak emergency Budget – with the OBR predicted planning reforms would yield 170,000 new homes, boosting growth by 0.2 per cent a year. But the difficulty here is that at present the UK doesn't have the skilled workforce to build these homes. To solve this, Labour has worked with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and the National House-Building Council (NHBC), who have invested £140m into developing the pipeline of construction workers. This will result in 32 'homebuilding skills hubs' to 'fast-track training to local areas that need more housing' and ultimately deliver 5,000 more construction apprentices a year. Yet, there are two problems. Firstly, the hubs aren't scheduled to launch until 2028. Secondly, as the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) chief executive, Tim Balcon, said: 'Under the government's homebuilding plans, up to an additional 152,000 workers will need to be found.' He added: 'And this doesn't include the quarter of a million additional construction workers we need to meet all forecasted construction demand through to 2028'. While admirable, 5,000 apprentices by the end of this parliament will not plug a vacancy gap of 402,000 workers, or deliver 1.3 to 1.5m homes.
