Speaking in May this year, the Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner described smaller housebuilders as “the bedrock of [the Government’s] plan for change to build 1.5 million homes and fix the housing crisis.” Will its plans deliver?
The figures are stark. In the late 1980s, the UK’s 12,000 small and medium sized housebuilders delivered around 40% of new homes in England. By 2020 that figure had fallen to around 2,500, delivering just 10% of new homes, falling even further by 2023 to only 1,500 businesses – an 80% decline in just four decades.
“The Government recognised the pivotal role regional housebuilders play in the delivery of new homes in the series of reforms it announced in May”, says Jody Vincent , Commercial Window Group.
“This includes planning reforms, but also bringing new flexibility to funding, including the release of specific funding streams for social housing.
“The aim is to reverse the decline in small and medium sized housebuilders, giving them a pivotal role to play in its ambitions to deliver 1.5million new homes by 2030.”
What’s in the plan?
· Faster decisions for small sites: Minor developments of up to nine homes will benefit from streamlined planning and eased Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirements, with faster decisions being taken by expert planning officers, not planning committees;
· A new ‘medium site’ category: Sites between ten to 49 homes will face simpler rules and fewer costs – including a proposed exemption from the Building Safety Levy and simplified BNG rules, making it easier to deliver biodiverse habitats on these sites, delivering a win-win for nature and development;
· More land and financing options for SMEs: Homes England will release more of its land exclusively to SMEs, and a new National Housing Delivery Fund to be confirmed at the spending review will support long-term finance options, such as revolving credit facilities and lending alliances.
· A new pilot to unlock small sites for SMEs: the Small Sites Aggregator will bring together small brownfield sites that would otherwise not have been developed, and attract private investment to build new social rent homes and address temporary accommodation challenges. Building on a model developed by Lloyds Banking Group’s Social Housing Initiative, the Small Sites Aggregator will be trialled this year with input from Bristol, Sheffield and the London Borough of Lewisham and with the support of their regional authorities. This will help tackle the housing shortage, address unviable small plots of land, and create local jobs supporting the government’s Plan for Change.
On top of this, the Government has also announced a series of financial incentives for local builders. This includes £100m in SME Accelerator Loans as part of a £700m extension of the Home Building Fund; £10m to fund the recruitment of more environmental specialists to speed up the planning process and a £1.2m PropTech Innovation Fund, to support innovation in the delivery of small sites.
“This is coming on top of the Governments’ shake-up of the National Planning Policy Framework, which shows just how important regional delivery and smaller sites are in hitting government targets for new homes”, Jody adds.
Small sites are generally classed as less than 0.25 hectares in size, while the Government has also targeted local planning authorities with delivery of at least 10% of new homes in sites no larger than one hectare in size or delivering fewer than 10 homes.
The advantages of a national supply partner and regional delivery
The Commercial Window Group is a specialist supplier of new build windows and doors, working throughout Wales, the South West, Southern England, South East England, East Anglia, Central England, North West England and the North East.
Set up to remove complexity from the window and door supply chain it delivers instant wins for regional and smaller housebuilders, giving them the stability, backing and technical support of a national specialist in new build window and door manufacture and supply, with regional delivery by accredited and new build specialist installation partners throughout the UK.
This includes guarantees underwritten by the manufacture and 12-months fixed pricing, supporting more effective budget management.
Windows and doors are manufactured in the UK’s most advanced energy efficient window and door systems from Profile 22, bringing them together with proven hardware and ultra secure locking, simplifying window and door specification – and through-life maintenance.
“If you’re a regional or smaller housebuilder we can put you in touch with a local and specialist installation partner, who knows the area you’re working in and can bring the specialist local knowledge to the job. They’re also just down the road if you need them”, explains Jody.
He continues: “At the same time, you get the security that goes with the backing of one of the UK’s largest PVC-U window and door manufacturers including 12-month’s fixed pricing, manufacturer’s guarantees and expert technical and window and door specification support.”
According to Glennigan after a contraction of 8% last year, the private new build sector will see a strong rebound of 8% in 2025, followed by a further 10% growth in 2026, and 18% in 2025.
Jody argues increased consumer confidence, the Government’s strategy for regional housebuilding and the reform of the planning system, generated new opportunities for small and regional housebuilders.
“There are some very big wins on the horizon for builders”, he says. “The frustrations are being addressed and the opportunities to develop sites and deliver schemes are huge.
“As a specialist supplier of new build windows and doors, the Commercial Window Group can support house builders in the delivery of quality homes, including the specification and supply of doors and windows which can help them to complete, but also maximise profitability of projects.”
For more information on the Commercial Window Group’s next generation high performance window and door ranges and our regional delivery partners call 01234 567890 or email [email protected]
