The UK government plans to build 1.5 million homes in five years to address the housing crisis, focusing on large developments like new towns. Historically successful post-war new towns, such as Milton Keynes, contrast with recent delays like Northstowe, where infrastructure issues stalled progress. Larger developments, making up 38% of permitted units, face prolonged planning times, sometimes exceeding 11 years, as seen in Ebbsfleet Valley. While new towns can offer substantial housing and infrastructure, they encounter significant barriers. Smaller developments and infill projects may offer quicker solutions by utilising existing land and infrastructure while larger projects remain under planning scrutiny.
The UK government aims to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years to tackle the housing crisis, with a focus on creating large communities or new towns of over 10,000 units each. While post-war new towns like Milton Keynes, Harlow, and Basildon were economically successful, new town construction has stalled since the 1990s. However, large-scale developments have become increasingly important for housing supply in the UK over the past 25 years.
At the start of the century, large developments of at least 500 units constituted a small percentage of housing supply. Today, such projects account for 38% of permitted housing units, despite making up just 0.2% of total applications. These developments, though essential for addressing the housing shortage, face significant challenges, particularly in terms of planning and infrastructure delays.
For example, Northstowe in Cambridgeshire was planned as the largest new town since Milton Keynes, but its progress was hindered by delays to the A14 expansion, upon which the town depended. Though developers contributed over 120 million pounds for local infrastructure, including schools, the project remains incomplete, frustrating residents. Similarly, Buckshaw Village in Lancashire faced the challenge of decontaminating a former munitions site, which required a 10.5 million pounds cleanup contract.
Research shows that the time taken to reach planning decisions increases with project size. Projects involving more than 500 units take an average of four years and four months from application to decision, while even single-unit projects can take up to a year. Larger developments, such as Ebbsfleet Valley near London, have experienced even longer delays. Although 43,000 homes were planned in Ebbsfleet in 1996, only 4,000 have been built so far due to delays in planning approval and infrastructure requirements. These long wait times and complex approval processes slow down housing delivery, making large developments difficult to execute quickly. Developers must weigh the cost savings of building on a large scale against the potential for regulatory and logistical delays.
While new towns and large-scale developments can deliver significant housing and infrastructure, they face the toughest barriers under current planning regulations. As a result, smaller developments, urban extensions, and infill projects on underused land should not be overlooked. These projects can offer quicker, more cost-effective solutions to the housing crisis while larger developments face lengthy approval processes.
The UK government's ambitious plan to build 1.5 million homes focuses on large-scale developments, which are essential yet filled with challenges, particularly in planning and infrastructure. To effectively address the housing crisis, a balanced approach that includes smaller developments and urban infill projects is crucial, as they offer quicker, more cost-effective solutions amidst the complexities faced by larger projects.
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