Another day, another housing initiative down the drain. In an Easter treat for first time buyers, the curtain finally came down on the Help to Buy initiative, with little appetite of resurrection. It marks what has been a tough period for housing initiatives with two stalwarts axed in a matter of weeks.
Unsurprisingly the announcement has been met with a sea of differing views. Fair argument has been made on both sides and does not need repeating. I think we can all agree debates such as these are not simply black or white, instead every action has a trade-off and that is absolutely the case with Help to Buy.
All I can speak for is the experience I’ve had during this time and the personal stories I’ve witnessed of Pocket buyers who would have otherwise been unable to afford a home. During the time it was operational, we sold almost 70% of our homes in this manner, helping bring the average deposit down by almost half. Of those who purchased, 40% were key workers like Kezia, who brought a home at our West Green Place development in Haringey. She was one of 375,000 people who benefited from the initiative.
But now is not the time to reflect on the past. Planning applications in England are at the lowest level in at least 16 years and rather than scaling back on initiatives we need to come together as an industry to provide innovative solutions that can help shoulder the delivery of new homes in this country.
One such initiative is the Small Site Planning Policy which Pocket and others have been promoting. Later this month, its merits will be debated in the House of Lords. After an unsuccessful attempt to insert the amendment into the Levelling Up Bill six months ago whilst it was visiting the Commons, Baroness Thornhill and the Liberal Democrats, along with the support of over 40 organisations, are seeking a second crack at the whip in the House of Lords.
As a rather eccentric treasury official once told me, ‘housing supply is like garden design. No good garden is made up of one statement flower, but rather a myriad of all flowers in all shapes and sizes contributing to the overall enjoyment of the garden. Housing supply is the same. It should not be derived from one singular overarching initiative, but rather a range of ideas, differing in form, but all pushing in the same direction’. Hopefully upwards!
The Small Sites Planning Policy is one of those flowers. Alone it will not solve the housing crisis (Pocket estimate in the 10 largest urban areas small sites under 0.25ha could deliver over 110,000 homes), but coupled with a range of demand-side and supply-side solutions, we could soon be in a place where the housing needs of this nation are suitably met. Wouldn’t that be a nice Easter treat for 2024!
