3 Million Homes - Delivering Sustainable Communities

What's more, this huge challenge comes against a backdrop of tough new environmental targets and the upheaval of ongoing change in the planning system.

But alongside the numbers, our industry also has to ensure that these homes are part of sustainable communities. Where will design quality, green spaces and social infrastructure fit in? Do we understand the relative importance of the components of a sustainable community in particular locations or situations? And if so, what are they? Can we look to the past for successful models, or do we need to create something totally new? Does industry have the right skills and structures in place to deliver on this? And are local authorities and planners playing their part?

In short, is it possible to reconcile the delivery of quantity and quality?

Capita Symonds and Regenerate magazine brought together leading figures in the regeneration world to explore the barriers to delivery and possible solutions to turn government aspirations into reality. This discussion paper summarises the debate and explores how our industry can rise to this challenge.

Infrastructure

Forum members began by agreeing unanimously that there was a huge task at hand. One of the most fundamental issues, the forum agreed, was to have the right infrastructure in place. This would create value in land and property, and drive investment towards new developments.

The discussion turned immediately to how the massive cost of providing this infrastructure could be funded. The government’s proposed solution of planning gain supplement (PGS) was not popular with forum members, with one critic pointing out that it would not cover the large price tag of physical infrastructure.

Many forum members argued that the emphasis should be placed equally on social infrastructure, such as health facilities, schools and community centres, as well as roads and bridges. One member was exasperated by the unwillingness of government to fund this. “We talk about place making, but no one wants to look after it. Developers are in no position to fund and then run health centres or educational facilities and as the government won’t do it, we end up with service charges on the community.”

One solution, it was suggested, was to create an environment where residents had enough respect for their surroundings that they would want to take on the running of social structures within it. “We need residents to respect their neighbourhood enough to be proud to live there and want to be a part of the community.”

In the US, one member pointed out, the community centres were like country clubs and everyone was keen to get involved. “The buildings look great and they have got swimming pools and a host of other facilities. Everyone buys in because everybody uses it and enjoys it. It’s not like that in the UK. We tend to stick our community centres at the bottom of a field somewhere and look down on the people that use them.” It was suggested that the UK could learn from the US model.

Community engagement

Most agreed that lack of engagement by residents could be put down to minimal participation in the development process. If people in the local area were not consulted properly about plans for new schemes, they would end up fighting them.

Some local resentment occurs, the forum was informed, because extra funds to boost the existing social infrastructure tend to arrive between three and five years after homes are built. “The local services come under huge pressure due to an increase in people, and that makes the existing population feel bitter about growth.”

Mixed tenure

The discussion moved on to successful regeneration schemes. Barcelona is often cited as a good example of high-density city centre living by some noted leaders. Some members of the forum questioned this, however, and it was argued that studies had shown that residents there did not, in fact, want to live in flats in the city centre. They preferred villas on the outskirts of the city because of the investment that had been made in the public transport network.

Many around the table agreed that the key to success lay not just in high densities, but was also about finding the right mix of tenures for the particular area.

But there were concerns that creating this mix would impact on the number of homes built. “The reason the sixties failed was because they built single-tenure estates – so we have to get a suitable range,” one member pointed out. “If we create the same types of homes, we will hit CLG [Department for Communities and Local Government] targets, but if we put in mixed schemes, the number we build will be less.”

Local government and agencies

One of the main challenges, most believed, was that local authorities and government agencies sometimes made it hard to deliver projects, mostly due to a lack of joined-up thinking. However, there was praise for the government’s new demand that local authorities work up a five-year plan identifying potential development sites. It was agreed that most councils would, in time, rise to this challenge.

Certain local authorities were more effective than others in pushing through new developments, the forum agreed. The council heard about one council in London that had already identified sites for development and had changed its planning policy to tackle densification in the area.

But were there too many delivery agencies and did the sheer number of people involved just confuse matters? There was a difference in opinion here, but most agreed that this did not necessarily trouble developers, as long as the lead agency was efficient and well run.

Strong leadership

The main frustration for many was the lack of leadership. “We have to have strong civil leadership,” one member said. “The way things are at the moment some schemes E E are still in planning five years after they were submitted. That is no way to run the country.”

China and Dubai were held up as examples of how a strong, central leadership can drive development, and particularly how forward funding infrastructure can propel new development and set a fast pace.“In the Thames Gateway, if we take a long time to put in infrastructure, it will take longer for shareholders of companies investing there to get a return. They will begin to question whether it is worth it,” one member pointed out.

Many agreed that Manchester council chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein was a good example of strong civic leadership, as he showed himself to be passionate and determined about regeneration in his city. He even goes to the train station to greet investors off the train to demonstrate how keen he is for them to get involved in his city, the forum was told.

However, members felt strongly that there also had to be strong corporate leaders. The ideal situation, it was argued, was when leaders from the local authority sat down with the development team and between them allocated parts of the scheme that each side would commit to delivering.

One of the main challenges was that there was no longer a consistent regulatory framework to work within, members agreed. There were too many changes in regulation taking place at the same time and both industry and local authorities were having trouble keeping up. Members often felt that they were starting from scratch on each new project.

One member argued that local plans were so vague that it was common that a developer did not know how much housing it was allowed on a particular site. “I don’t know of any other industry where you are asked to make such a huge investment on such little information.”

Environmental standards

As discussion turned to environmental issues and the government requirement that all new homes be zero carbon by 2016, it was agreed unanimously that industry had to collaborate on research and development of the technologies needed to implement this tough target.

This would be difficult, some said, because the housebuilding industry was naturally competitive and used to working in isolation. Yet it was also vital as the costs for each company to carry out its own research would soon become unsustainable. There was already a lot of work being carried out on technologies such as CHP and ground source heat pumps, the forum was told, but it was not being pooled for the benefit of all. It was suggested that an industry body, such as the Home Builders Federation (HBF), should take the lead on this.

The forum also acknowledged that the majority of housing developments were undertaken by smaller companies, which had less knowledge and time to devote to green issues. It was important, some suggested, that these companies be helped, possibly by the HBF, with attaining this difficult agenda.

Everyone agreed that the number of affordable homes on a scheme would have to decrease if sustainability targets were to be met, because of the extra costs involved in going green. “You’ve got to balance between the two – it doesn’t make business sense otherwise.”

Skills crisis

As the forum drew to a close, the discussion turned to one of the biggest challenges the industry is facing – the skills crisis. One forum member revealed that their company had tried many solutions, including going to head-hunters and encouraging universities to recruit more people to the relevant courses. The public sector, planning departments in particular, was suffering from years of underpayment and undervaluing its staff and was consequently losing the best people to consultants in the private sector.

There was also recognition that there was a severe lack of management level staff, especially those capable of working at the pre-planning stage. Members even questioned if there were enough people in the UK with suitable leadership skills to deliver 3 million homes by 2020.

Ultimately, the forum agreed, the industry could not just make a dash for numbers, as happened in the 1950s and 60s. “We are responsible for the environment we create,” one member said, “and the real task at hand goes way beyond just building more homes.”