Problems with viability
Cost of funding and the price of land remain key obstacles to innovation. For one developer, “land is the only thing that should come down in price but never will because of the political situation. You’ve no option but to go for maximised site value. Otherwise, you don’t win.”
Planning slows development and makes programmes unpredictable, said another developer. More problematic is lack of certainty in the process. Finding viability in the current market is the biggest issue.
Development is “simply unviable” as interest rates and build costs soar. Factors include the erosion of margins by the Community Infrastructure Levy, S106 agreements, levels of affordable housing and, more recently, the requirement for second fire staircases.
“Margins are skinny, really skinny, in urban housebuilding. We will not see a lot happening,” said one developer.
These pressures throw up tough choices for planners and developers. “What’s better? Bigger private flats – for example, 3-beds – with less affordable housing, or boxes of 50m2 with more affordable housing?” asked a guest.
Do planners really have a grip on what their area needs? Many guests felt even when underpinned by research, policies are “three or four years out of date” by the time they’re enacted and often encourage a cookie-cutter approach.
There’s also the problem of timing. “By the time you get permission, the economic cycle is in a different place.”
