Building Communities Making Place a Home
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Building Communities Making Place a Home Foreword STEWART BASELEY, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, HBF STEWART BASELEY, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, HBF HBF CHAIRMAN, EXECUTIVE BASELEY, STEWART We are proud that home builders continue to be one of the key drivers of community investment in the UK, and of the vital role that our members are playing in keeping local economies moving, by finding safe methods of continuing to build in this challenging environment. Industry investment in tackling Covid-19 has also included members contributing directly to the nation’s efforts on the front line, such as by donating PPE to hospitals and health and social care providers. Home builders are firm This is an important moment for the house believers that community building industry and while we reflect on the Covid-19 pandemic so far and the damage it should be at the heart of has done to our communities, we must also any development. look forward. The Government has recently announced proposals for major reforms That is why our members work closely with to the planning system and indeed, to the Local Authorities through the planning process, developer contributions system. We support the not just on the bricks and mortar of housing Government’s bold ambitions to speed up the developments, but on a whole range of benefits planning system and are keen to ensure, both in that help to create and enhance communities. the interim period, and following the reforms, that community remains at the core of what we do. From building schools and hospitals to creating parks, green spaces and leisure In our report, Building Communities: Making facilities, our members are integral to the Place a Home, we are proud to showcase some growth and investment of communities up of the best examples of developers contributing and down the country. to local communities. With this publication, we hope to shine a light on some of the great work In 2018/19, the industry contributed being done by the industry and to detail what over £7 billion towards affordable exemplary community building looks like. housing provision, infrastructure and amenity enhancements. I am proud of our members’ continuing efforts to support the local areas in which they build . The devastating impact of Covid-19 has The industry is as energised as ever to invest shown us all the true value of community, in our communities and help our country thrive, as the country has come together to help which is crucial as we seek to rebuild following support each other through this difficult time. the devastating impacts of Covid-19. HOME BUILDERS FEDERATION O3 Executive summary The need to build more AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROVISION The home building industry is both large In light of this report and the polling evidence, In 2018/19, home builders provided over and complex and as such, there is no single we suggest the following three policy homes is not the only £7 billion to local authorities in contributions source of data that provides comprehensive recommendations, which aim to ensure challenge facing the home for affordable housing and built 57,485 new information about the industry’s day-to-day the contributions made by developers are building industry. As well as affordable homes. investments in community assets and social used effectively and transparently for the BOOSTING EDUCATION SERVICES infrastructure. This report incorporates benefit of communities across the UK. These Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local recommendations are outlined in more detail increasing housing supply, Home builders contributed over £200 million to Government (MHCLG) statistics with sector in the conclusion of this report. However, a educational facilities. This is enough to fund the developers play an essential specific multipliers to translate amounts of summary is as follows: recruitment of 8,500 new teachers, or to supply funding into relevant outputs for different role in supporting the local textbooks for over 25,000 schools. communities where they areas, which gives a real-world picture of what RECOMMENDATIONS SUPPORTING LOCAL HEALTH PROVISION the monetary contributions of home builders build. It is important that Through tax revenue alone, £559 million was can deliver. 01. spent on improving health facilities last year. When financial contributions are made by a we raise awareness of the This is enough to fund over 6,300 new GPs, In producing this report, our research developer but not used by the relevant Local community benefits that 18.6 million GP appointments, or 151,000 hip also revealed there is a high level of Authority in the agreed timeframe, the funding arise from development, so replacement operations. misunderstanding amongst stakeholders about should be given directly to local communities DRIVING LOCAL ECONOMIES the developer contributions system. rather than returned to the developer. that we can increase public Last year, private sector home building With this in mind, we commissioned YouGov 02. supported and sustained approximately support for building the to undertake a quantitative assessment on Local authorities should be required to 772,000 jobs and 8,400 graduate and public awareness and perceptions regarding publish an easily digestible summary of their homes we vitally need. apprenticeship positions. It also contributed developer contributions. The polling found annual reports. £3 billion in tax revenues which is enough In this report, we demonstrate that our that many are unaware of the contributions to fund over 25,000 miles of new road. members are more than just home builders, developers make to communities. Only 37% 03. they are community builders too. IMPROVING COMMUNITY FACILITIES associate a financial contribution to the Private developers and local authorities should Home builders contribute £45 million a year in community with housing developments, while adopt a public badging scheme to raise To illustrate this, the report focuses on six local community spaces. That is enough to build 73% associate developments with increased awareness around community investments. areas, supported by a range of case studies approximately 400 football or rugby pitches, or pressure on facilities. It also found that the where developers have played an important 50 new sports halls. public overwhelmingly support changing the Throughout the remainder of this report, we role in delivering real-world community benefits: ENHANCING GREEN SPACES way unspent developer contributions are used, seek to show the excellent work of community with almost three quarters supporting unspent builders and demonstrate the need for the Home builders invested over £74 million in contributions being given to the local area, and recommended changes listed above. creating green spaces last year. This is enough only 2% supporting the status quo of returning to plant 8.65 million trees. unspent contributions to developers. 04 BUILDING COMMUNITIES: MAKING PLACE A HOME HOME BUILDERS FEDERATION 05 Building communities: The challenge JUST SOME OF THE TALENTED HOME BUILDING WORKFORCE HELPING TO BUILD LOCAL COMMUNITIES COMMUNITIES LOCAL BUILD TO HELPING WORKFORCE BUILDING HOME TALENTED THE OF SOME JUST Despite these challenges, we enter this difficult ever that the industry focuses on delivering period with optimism about what the industry some of the wider benefits that can come from can deliver. Significant progress has been development. made year on year since 2012/13, when the number of new homes completed dropped to The central challenge for our members the lowest level since the Second World War. therefore is maintaining a dual focus, In fact, housing supply has increased by an on quantity and quality, on homes and unprecedented 93% in six years, the highest communities. The home building industry’s level in more than a generation. ability to rise to this challenge has meant that not only is housing supply going up The most recent figures show that 241,340 considerably year on year, but community net additions to the country’s housing stock investment is too. were made in 2018/19, meaning the industry has now achieved the Government’s target of However, we strive to go further. We recently delivering one million new homes between published our 2020s vision for the home 2015-2020. We are now building more homes building industry, a strategy for the next than before the financial crash of 2008, and decade and beyond, which sets out how the more than the average achieved during the industry can continue to grow, while promoting 1950s and 1960s. environmental and social responsibility, and developing communities. However, increasing housing supply is not the only challenge facing the industry. But as well as looking to the future, it is While responding to the immense pressure important that we raise awareness of the to build more high quality, environmentally excellent work our members have already The need for this country The devastating economic friendly homes, developers also need to be done in rising to the challenge of increasing focussed on placemaking, creating thriving housing supply, while also delivering for the to build more homes is impacts of Covid-19 communities and establishing green and clean communities they serve. clear. Despite the huge is compounding these spaces. Communities are hurting as a result increase in housing supply challenges, and it is now of Covid-19, and it is more important than achieved over the past clearer than ever that six years, it will take many continued and accelerated more years of significant home building will need to delivery to address a be central to the country’s housing crisis caused by recovery. decades of undersupply. 06 BUILDING COMMUNITIES: MAKING PLACE A HOME HOME BUILDERS FEDERATION 07 Helping to deliver affordable homes Homes are also deliberately designed to ensure Whilst the UK is facing a they are well integrated with the neighbouring IN 2018-19, HOME BUILDERS BUILT 57,485 NEW AFFORDABLE HOMES. NEARLY housing supply crisis, there market housing and indistinguishable in design HALF (49%) OF ALL AFFORDABLE HOMES DELIVERED WERE FUNDED THROUGH is also a clear affordability terms.