Last week the Government released the
‘Land Development and Disposal Plan 2016-17’. This was issued by the
Homes and Communities Agency which has undertaken to update the plan on a
quarterly basis.
By releasing its own land for
housebuilding, says the HCA, and by working with other public bodies to dispose
of theirs, the HCA will help to meet the Government’s ambition to release land
with the capacity for 160,000 homes by 2020.
The plan identifies 43 new sites for
marketing in the current year. Over 20% of the sites already have outline
or full planning consent which together account for some 5000 homes. Not
all the sites are solely residential. They include commercial development
land and are intended to boost local economic growth across the country.
In the past, there has been much
criticism about the pace (or lack of it) at which public land has been released
to the market. The disposal process itself has also come under
fire. Prior to issuing this plan, the HCA liaised with key stakeholders
including the housebuilders. According to the HCA, it learnt a great deal
about what it had to do to make public land more attractive to the market. The
House Builders Federation welcomed the plan saying:
“The HCA’s role in disposing of public
land is critical… and the creation of a more commercial environment with
greater clarity will encourage more companies to bid for sites. The new
processes should not only help to accelerate the delivery of much-needed
housing but also allow more small house builders to compete for sites and build
more new homes.”
Time will
tell.
