The race is on to solve the housing crisis, with the government having set an ambitious target of building 1.5 million new homes by 2029. To achieve this, however, we need to think outside of the box.
As laid out in the government’s Plan for Change, local councils will need to meet a combined target of 370,000 new homes a year. While starts on sites by major housebuilders are now higher than a year ago, according to the National House Building Council (NHBC), this isn’t the case for smaller developers who have considerably less in their project pipeline.
While larger developers are, of course, a valuable asset to the housing industry, the strengths of smaller developers can often be overlooked. Not only do they have a number of characteristics that are hugely valuable when it comes to housing delivery, but they may just hold the key to boost building and solve the crisis.
Flexibility, speed, and bureaucracy
Earlier this year, the government announced plans to support smaller developers through quicker planning decisions and financial support to help accelerate the building of new homes.
Included in the plans are proposals to cut bureaucracy and shift planning decisions from councillors to expert officers for certain developments, while more relaxed biodiversity net gain requirements will also be introduced for smaller sites, making it easier to deliver biodiverse habitats.
The government is also seeking to support smaller firms by offering £100 million in accelerator loans.
Complex planning rules mean that smaller developments must currently go through the same processes and systems as larger developers. But the new plans change this, creating simpler and more streamlined rules, faster decisions and fewer regulatory burdens.
This means small developers are in a prime position to help fix the housing crisis – something the former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner cited when announcing the new plans while arguing that the changes make the system simpler, fairer and more cost effective.
Community ties and responding to local needs
When building new homes, one size doesn’t fit all. Housing should respond to local needs, and demand for different property types and tenures varies by location and community.
Larger developers are more likely to be further removed from their local communities, which makes understanding these requirements more difficult.
On the other hand, smaller developers can more easily develop tighter-knit relationships with locals, allowing them to engage with the people they serve and get a more in depth understanding of local housing needs to inform decision-making.
Flexibility is key to solving the housing crisis, and it’s crucial we’re delivering the types of housing that are most in demand. Building these relationships with the local community may take time, but smaller developers are in a prime position to do this.
Making use of brownfield land
Building more homes means developing on land that may previously have been overlooked. This is where brownfield land sites – which have previously been built on but are now abandoned or underutilised – come into play.
A new pilot to unlock small brownfield sites for smaller developers is being rolled out by the government as part of plans to meet its housing targets. The Small Sites Aggregator will bring together small brownfield sites that would otherwise not be developed on, and will be trialled this year in Bristol, Sheffield, and the London Borough of Lewisham.
Small brownfield sites are often not large enough for bigger developers to utilise, so if smaller developers don’t step in, the sites are left to go to waste.
It’s encouraging that the government is recognising the potential of these spaces, which are often more manageable and better suited to smaller developers. Making use of the land we have will help boost housing supply, where redeveloping on brownfield land can also encourage design innovation – a win-win for the industry.
Training the next generation
Government figures from this year state that smaller firms train eight out of 10 construction apprentices, and these apprentices are crucial in addressing the housing crisis.
To deliver the 1.5 million new homes the government is aiming for we need sufficient labour, but this is another problem plaguing the construction sector.
The Construction Industry Training Board estimates that the UK requires a minimum of 216,800 more construction jobs skills across the workforce to keep up with demand, with skills such as bricklaying experiencing a significant shortage.
Encouraging smaller developers to continue to invest in apprentices not only sets the sector up for the future, but helps to develop the skills we urgently need to deliver more housing.
Smaller developers are more likely to be able to give trainees and apprentices the real first-hand experience they need thanks to their flexibility and lack of red tape compared to their larger counterparts, and we should take advantage of this as an industry.
The government should be providing more incentives for smaller firms to sign up to apprenticeship schemes for this reason.
Final thoughts
Solving the housing crisis isn’t an easy task, but smaller developers are in a good position to make a difference.
With more government backing and funding coming into play, it’s a great time for smaller developers to get building. In theory, it will be easier than ever before for smaller developers to get their plans into motion, and with more brownfield sites becoming accessible, there is even more land to build on.
We still have a long way to go to meet the government’s housing targets, but maximising the skills of small developers is a great place to start
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