Plans revealed today by housing secretary Michael Gove to release more brownfield sites for housebuilding have gained cautious industry approval but the Federation of Master Builders says they must look beyond just the cities.
The DLHC announced today that councils in England should priorities brownfield housing plans but added that big city councils that are not meeting house building targets must raise the bar for refusing brownfield housing plans. FMB chief exec Brian Berry welcomed the move, saying: “House building rates have fallen flat, and urgent action will be necessary in order to deliver the volume of homes that Britain needs.
“I welcome the Government’s proposals to make it easier for permission to be granted for building on brownfield sites, and the planned requirements for local councils to be less bureaucratic in preventing house building. But we must take these ambitions beyond the big cities.
“Small house builders must be at the heart of these plans, not just major developers. Brownfield sites are the mainstay sites of small builders, helping to rejuvenate run-down sites back into high quality housing. But we must also look beyond big cities and at the type of homes being delivered. There is a lack of affordable housing in the countryside, where small house builders once thrived. There are a wealth of brownfield sites outside of our major cities, but they are often overlooked in local plans, this must be addressed”.
