The myth that housing developers are hoarding land after gaining planning consent in order to benefit from a rising market has been debunked in new research by leading planning consultancy Lichfields.

Lichfields was commissioned by the Land Promoters and Developers Federation (LPDF) and the Home Builders Federation (HBF) to undertake research into how the pipeline of sites for housing development compares with what might be needed to meet the government’s ambitions for 300,000 net additional homes per annum across England.

The report – Tracking Progress, the second stage of Lichfields’ research – provides a ‘deep dive’ review of monitoring data to establish what happened to the planning permissions granted in a single base year across five case study local planning authorities (LPAs) over a five-year period.

Central Bedfordshire, London Borough of Wandsworth, Cheshire East, Colchester, and Stratford-on-Avon LPAs were chosen to provide a geographical spread and mix of types of authority area.

The report states: “None of our analysis suggests (at least outside of London) any systemic failure in converting planning permissions to development by the industry.

“The planning and development process is complicated and with risk, the mismatch between planning permissions granted and housing output on a yearly basis is readily explained by the simple matter of the time it takes to progress development through the regulatory stages, the risks associated with small site delivery (and by smaller builders), the overall phasing of build-out on larger sites, and the role of the planning system (via new planning permissions) in facilitating changes to planned development schemes to reflect practical requirements.” 

Paul Brocklehurst, chairman of the LPDF, said: “This research highlights the gross over-simplification in the analysis by the Local Government Association frequently quoted in the national press and by many politicians regarding the ‘stock’ of unimplemented consents. Building on Lichfields initial Taking Stock report this latest analysis further highlights the desperate need for there to be an increase in planning consents in the short term if we are to achieve the Government’s target of building 300,000 new homes per annum.   

“The Government’s Planning White Paper process has exacerbated the impact of the pandemic. Urgent action is needed to ensure that the housebuilding industry, on top of the labour and supply chain challenges that they face, is not confronted in the near term with an inability to restock its land.  

“We fully appreciate that the new Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities will want to carefully review the responses to last year’s Planning White Paper proposals before making critical policy decisions. However, we would call on Government to clarify the changes they propose to make to the current planning system quickly, so that local authorities can return to producing their Local Plans, land can be allocated for much-needed housing and the development industry can continue to deliver on the Government’s 300,000 per year new homes target.”

Tracking Progress adds: “The past 10 years has seen periodic commentary about how the number of planning permissions for housing has exceeded the number of homes built.

“Often drawing upon an annual research piece by the Local Government Association (LGA), the most recent being in May 2021 which purported to show 1.1m homes with unimplemented permission, the commentary has been associated with the allegation that developers ‘hoard’ land with the intention of benefitting from a rising market, generating a ‘backlog’ of permissions waiting to be built.

“This argument leads to the hypothesis that sufficient permissions exist for all the homes that are needed nationally, but that these are simply not being built out and that ‘planning is not the problem’.

“We explored the national and sub-national picture in the first phase of this research entitled Taking Stock. This highlighted logical fallacies involved in the LGA’s method of comparing national permissions and net additions data over the same period, most notably because it double counts schemes that are subject to multiple planning permissions. These fatally undermine the credibility of the 1.1m figure, the robustness of which is not enhanced by its repetition.

Andrew Whitaker, planning director at the HBF said: “This myth that housebuilders land bank has been dismissed by a growing number of independent reviews. As this latest research demonstrates, aggregating numbers of outstanding planning permissions misses the ‘story’ behind each and every site that comes forward for development.”

The report adds: “When local residents and councillors refer to permissions that have not yet delivered, they are, in many cases, simply observing a lag period for delivery on outline schemes that is entirely to be expected. Even with that, most such schemes deliver early, with the majority of outline permissions in the research either completed or delivering – and a third of the homes on those outline planning permissions completed – within five years.”

Adopting a very broad-brush approach, and informed by the case studies (as opposed to profiling of all permissions in the country), we conclude that when looking at the number of units granted any type of permission (both full and outline) in a given year, after five years one might expect roughly:

•             3% to 5% of homes granted permission will lapse or stall;

•             10% to 15% of homes granted permission will be superseded at a later date by fresh permission (and not necessarily harming the pace of delivery);

•             35% to 50% of homes granted permission will have been delivered;

•             35% to 50% of homes granted permission will remain extant but on sites delivering on a phased basis beyond five years.

Waters Baths of Ashbourne has announced it will be running its Golden Ticket Competition for retailers for the second year running.

Between September and November 2021, retailers have the chance to win a bath for their customers free of charge. To take part, retailers must include a Waters Baths of Ashbourne Bath in their customers’ bathroom design and submit the project before the end of November.

Email bathroom designs with the project postcode to: goldticket@watersbaths.co.uk The competition closes 30th November 2021. A winner will be selected every month for 3 months starting from 7th October 2021.

Positioning itself to be a key player in the kitchen and bathroom industry, House of Rohl has launched in the UK and is housing key brands that include Victoria + Albert Baths, Perrin & Rowe, Shaws and brassware firm Riobel.

Under the House of Rohl umbrella, the firm offers a full suite of hand-selected, innovative and luxury collections. House of Rohl’s collective expertise and support will help both industry leaders and consumers in their quest to curate the perfect kitchen and bathroom spaces.

Offering showrooms for design professionals, developers and installers House of Rohl promises a more complete bathroom solution, with baths and basins from Victoria + Albert Baths; brassware and sanitaryware from Perrin & Rowe, contemporary taps from Riobel; and hand-crafted sinks from Shaws.

The House of Rohl story began in 1983 with American entrepreneur Ken Rohl. Ken was struck by the impressive design he found in European bathrooms and kitchens, which at the time was unavailable in the US. With his three sons, he gradually built a multi-million dollar business importing the finest products from Europe and around the world. This fascination with high-quality, international design has now culminated in the creation of the House of Rohl, a project which seeks to position the brand as procurers of the very best in kitchen and bathroom solutions.

At the heart of House of Rohl lies its family of brands: Riobel, Victoria + Albert Baths, Perrin & Rowe and Shaws.

Riobel are designers of kitchen and bathroom taps that have been hugely successful in North America. Founded in Quebec, Riobel’s award-winning designs fuse brilliant engineering with an architectural style drawing on influences from both Europe and North America.

Victoria + Albert’s freestanding baths have a global reputation, and the company is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Each bath and basin is manufactured and hand-polished from its unique QUARRYCAST™ material, strong, light and warm to the touch. The brand now offers over 40 baths in both modern and traditional designs, and recently introduced 199 RAL colourways, including a bespoke collaboration with Wallpaper* Magazine.

Perrin & Rowe is a distinctly British brand. With a casting plant in Wolverhampton, it represents the heart of the British brassware industry, still making taps in small batches by hand to achieve the highest possible quality.

Finally, Shaws is another quintessentially British business, specialising in the creation of beautiful fireclay sinks. In a process essentially unchanged since the business was established by Arthur Shaw on St Valentine’s Day 1897, Shaws fireclay sinks are hand finished, then fired for longer and at a higher temperature than conventional ceramics to achieve an intensely durable material with a deep gloss finish.

House of Rohl’s launch as a brand begins with the opening of a new showroom in the Design Centre Chelsea Harbour. This space will act as the European hub for the House of Rohl, showcasing all four brands to hoteliers, developers, interior designers, architects and specifiers, as well as end-consumers.

The showroom naturally exhibits the key products from each brand, but also hopes to be a destination for the design professionals, providing a unique space to meet clients and plan projects, with expert advice from the House of Rohl team available if needed. The showroom will officially open during Focus week, as part of the annual London Design Festival.

The Unified Water Label Association has welcomed the launch of the Construct Zero change programme, which details the commitments made by the industry to reduce its carbon emissions.  The initiative, which is being led by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) includes a Performance Framework, which sets out how the sector will commit to, and measure its progress towards Net Zero.

UWLA MD Yvonne Orgill says, “We welcome this report and the commitments that have been made.  It represents a step change in opinion about the need to act now, with more than 2,500 comments received to shape the framework.

“Whilst many of the metrics focus on the activities and output from firms within the sector, others relate to the delivery of energy savings in the building of new homes and the CLC Retrofit Strategy of existing properties.  One of the key commitments is that from 2025, new homes and buildings will minimise energy demand and reduce emissions in operation by 75% (dwellings) and at least 27% (commercial buildings) compared to current standards.

“The link between water, energy and carbon is one that we have highlighted in our recent campaigns to promote the Unified Water Label.  Our new website includes an energy and a carbon calculator that can calculate how much energy is used when water is heated, and how much relative carbon is used when changing to a product that uses less water.

“Contractors of new build properties and retrofit projects can select from a wide range of water using products that carry the Unified Water Label, which will help them reach the energy saving targets set out in the Performance Framework. Our database of products is already used by over 10,000 architects and specifiers on a regular basis, for new projects across the globe.

“We are looking forward to continuing the dialogue with the construction industry and the retrofitting sector to encourage them to support the use of Unified Water Label products.”

London’s latest architectural landmark, Design District has formally opened today as it welcomes the public to its site on Greenwich Peninsula.

The extraordinary architecture is designed to inspire a newly arrived creative community. A permanent home for the creative industries, Design District comprises 16 buildings by eight pioneering architects, one minute from North Greenwich Underground station. With studios, floors, or entire buildings available from £5 per sqft for the first 12 months, the district offers affordable spaces, comprehensive facilities and flexible leases – everything creative.

Happening in conjunction with London Design Festival and London Fashion Week, Design District’s opening will be marked with a special launch-night celebration on the 15th from 7pm, featuring music and performances, and by Design District Creates – a wide-ranging programme of insightful design talks, behind-the-scenes architecture tours and eye-opening exhibitions taking place throughout the month.

Comprising a deliberately eclectic medley of 16 buildings by eight world-leading architects, Design District was initially conceived by Knight Dragon to provide a permanent, purpose-designed home for London’s creative industries. As the economic impact of coronavirus hit the creative sector especially hard, the district’s role has expanded – not only is it intended to be a hub for the sector, it also aims to facilitate its economic recovery, providing affordable, flexible workspace to individuals and enterprises and giving them the breathing space to build back and grow. For example, this year, for the first 12 months of their tenancy, every business taking up residence in one of the district’s 16 buildings is paying just £5 per square foot for its workspace.

Leading bathroom supplier HiB has invested in expanding its operations department to support the ongoing growth of the business.

As part of the company’s ongoing development strategy, a new 300m2 loading area has been installed at its Inspire House distribution site in Tamworth, to facilitate the increase in orders and improve productivity. The new extension and loading space will allow HiB to increase stock capacity and support a growing fleet of delivery vehicles, which transport products across the company’s wide network of partners.

Neil Berry, Operations Director at HiB said: “The installation of a new loading area has been key in helping us manage the fantastic growth we have seen over the past few years. The additional space will allow us to continue the development of the operations department, giving us the opportunity to increase our stock and parts capacity as well as more space to manage deliveries. This means that we will be able to increase our capacity on the whole and offer an even more effective service to our customers.”

The new semi-permanent structure is the latest in a series of investments the company has made to enhance operations and customer experience. HiB has also introduced a new customer experience support system and management software to offer advanced communication and administration.

Speaking about HiB’s strategy for growth, Managing Director Robert Ginsberg said: “Offering our customers the very best possible service is incredibly important to us at HiB. By investing in the right infrastructure, we can ensure that we are able to manage increasing orders while still offering a high level of customer experience and efficiency from across our departments. The new extension is the next stage in our development plans and I am sure it will make a significant difference to our operations department in the coming months and years.”

For more information about HiB, visit https://www.hib.co.uk/