We’re now well into the 12 days of Christmas so what better way to see them through but with a post on the final six highlights of 2024.
- Planning reform – and lots of it swimming around.
After the disappointment of the last parliament, we all expected with a new mandate would come a new commitment to reforming the UK’s crumbling planning system and we got it!
Let’s just try and list what is potentially on offer in the planning reform agenda in the closing stages of 2024: New towns, grey belt, fewer more strategic planning committees, housing target changes, a new environmental levy, a rebooted NPPF. I am sure I have missed items but we did our best to cover these in our blog posts throughout 2024 which included views on new towns and grey belt. It’s all very welcome but does it go far enough we wonder. Ultimately the planning system is asked to do too much with limited resource and if the resource is not there to fix it then the only way is simplification in our humble opinion.
We would posit that the Government should not try to improve a broken system as it has suggested over 2024. Rather the discretionary nature of the UK planning system needs to make way for a more zonal approach and with more focus on plan making rather than committees as we argued back in July.
- The end of two tier town halls
In our November blog we talked about Local Government struggling on but in a barely functional state with a wave of bankruptcies rippling across our Town Halls. So we welcomed the Government’s new proposals in December to standardise and rationalise the patchwork of local government arrangements across the UK.
The two-tier system discourages growth, causes inefficiency and limits the ability of strategic planning to make meaningful difference. Proposals for reorganisation have failed before but the time has come to grasp the nettle. With limited money in the system and strong evidence that the structures we currently have simply are not fit for future purpose the time has come. Whilst early days, we think this is a significant moment and why it makes our top 12 of 2024. Long term if these reforms are correctly handled there will be a huge opportunity for the UK built environment to rebalance growth across the country.
- Land values at rock bottom means 2024 is the end of the last cycle
At propviews we like to opine about land values and we called the bottom of the market back in October. We reckon recent falls of 50-70% should be the pre-cursor to kickstarting investment and new cycle. Resi land values now only make up 5-10% of the GDV of most (viable) schemes for high density development.
It doesn’t feel like values can fall much further as set out in our October blog post. This makes 2024 a significant milestone event in the property cycle and why we’re positive about a gentle positive upward curve in 2025.
- The temporary housing crisis can be ignored no longer.
2024 was the year where the temporary housing crisis could no longer be brushed under the carpet and ignored by policy makers. London boroughs spent £4million a day on temporary accommodation in the year to March, an increase of 68 per cent from the year before whilst all the time affordable housing starts dropped through the floor. A serious failure of policy and practice has occurred and innovation is needed. We wrote about the increasingly dire situation way back in October 2023 and it only seems to have got worse. There is now a scramble to find solutions with the problem acknowledged across the whole sector. 2024 was the year the problem finally got acknowledged in the mainstream, lets hope 2025 will bring answers.
- Euston we’re back on!
It would be fair to remark that the October UK budget hasn’t been very popular with business but one thing to be welcomed was the confirmation of the extension to Euston from Old Oak for HS2. Propviews posted about the travails of Euston in this widely read blog expressing frustration and disappointment with the Sunak Government’s decision to strip a major UK infrastructure project bare.
It’s huge shame that HS2 was curtailed by the last Government with the decision on Euston left for the Sir Keir to pick up – partly being the local MP perhaps it was thought it would make him squirm. By reaffirming the connection with Euston, there is now real potential to make Old Oak a significant new residential and mixed-use quarter for London to rival the successes of the Nine Elms, Kings Cross and the emerging Brent Cross Town. A significant move for 2024 which will boost development in the Capital over the coming decade and it makes the top twelve.
- 2024 a challenge but it doesn’t stop new SME developers
Yes SMEs are dying out and our sector is beleaguered. However, 2024 was a big year for us at propviews as we decided to roll the dice and start our own development and advisory business Urban Sketch. You can find us here: Urban Sketch
We don’t expect an easy ride but we’ve learned a lot and believe in the power of partnership and honesty to help unlock the challenges of delivering new homes on brownfield sites. So for us we’re going to be a little selfish and add it to the list of 2024 highlights! Watch out for us in 2025 as we grow and try and bring innovation to the sector.
Thank you to everyone for your support, watch this space as we talk more in 2025. Happy New Year – that’s a wrap!! Nick, Will and Tina.
