The Peabody Trust, which topped the annual Housing Today development league table with 3885 homes in 2002/03, is the first registered social landlord to make this decision.
It feels it will be more productive to focus on schemes where it has control over what is built, either on its own or in joint ventures, than on planning gain projects. Under planning gain, developers get planning permission for a scheme in return for including social housing or infrastructure facilities. Around 12,000 homes are built each year in this way.
Peabody development director Dickon Robinson said: "I'm not saying we won't work with developers, but we simply aren't interested in participating in the traditional route where developers and councils thrash out a deal and then get associations to bid against one another to buy the housing. I can't see that this is sensible for associations to do, as if they get involved with developers earlier in the process they can have much more influence and end up owning better housing."
Dino Patel, policy officer at the London Housing Federation, said he understood the approach being taken by Peabody, but that he was not aware of any other RSLs following suit.
"This move fits in with the Housing Corporation bringing in its new long-term partnering and joint venture strategy," he said. "It will mean RSLs no longer have to rely so much on planning gain agreements for expanding. And it will allow people greater security in building up landbanks and taking other development risks."
An ODPM spokesman said: "We are looking at reforms and are keen to make the system work better in order to deliver the housing we want to see." But there are no details as to when this clarification – promised since last December – will be forthcoming.
Source
Housing Today
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