Government responds to Callcutt review

The government today announced its initial response to the Callcutt Review – the commission charged with examining the capability of the house building industry to deliver the homes needed for future generations.

Prime minister Gordon Brown recently announced plans to build three million new homes by 2020, with two million in place by 2016.

This equates to around 240,000 new properties annually, a target the Callcutt review argues the government is capable of achieving.

In order to attain this there needs to be a closer relationship between government and home builders, argues to the review, prepared by John Callcutt, former head of English Partnerships.

However, house builders have been criticised for their slow response to shortages.

"We urgently need to build more affordable, greener homes for this and future generations. But we cannot afford to wait for developers who may drag their feet once planning permission has been granted, hoping to benefit from increases in land value," said housing minister Yvette Cooper.

"That's why we are looking at what changes could be made to the planning system to make sure that developers really are making a substantial start on their projects."

As part of government plans to address the issue legislation will be introduced to define what constitutes a 'substantial start', with the aim of forcing builders to complete work once planning permission has been granted.

There are also plans to introduce 'fast track contracts' to speed up the development of the 900 public sites currently under consideration.

The government also recently announced the creation of the UK Green Building Council to assist in the development of environmentally friendly property.

"We also want to stamp out any potential for hidden land banking by making sure that land assets are completely transparent in financial statements," continued Ms Cooper.

"But this isn't just about building more homes - it's about building better, greener homes."

The review's findings were welcomed by some in the industry.

"[Mr Callcutt] rightly identifies land supply as the catalyst to realising the 2016 vision. House builders have the all the tools at their disposal to deliver – all we ask for is the land to make these new homes happen," said Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the Home Builders Federation.

"I particularly welcome the debunking of the myth of ‘landbanking’. Homebuilders are doing all they can to build the homes necessary to meet consumer demand, and meet government targets. Setting the record straight on this issue means we can concentrate on addressing the real problems with new housing delivery, namely land supply with planning permission."