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The Labour leader has set out his vision for a ‘society of service’ that would require partnership between civil society and government

Results from the survey revealed that the representation of ethnic minority groups in the workforce decreased year-on-year.

Last week, on 16th January 2024, the Sustainability Tool, in collaboration with the Supply Chain Sustainability School’s Fairness, Inclusion and Respect (FIR) Programme, exposed the outcomes of the largest-ever employee diversity survey in the UK.

The survey, which involved more than 526,000 individuals, revealed a variety of positive outcomes regarding inclusivity in the built environment workforce. Experts found that there is a noteworthy surge of women in the industry, rising from 23% in 2022 to 29.1% in 2023 – this marks the most significant increase within the last seven years.

 However, findings, which can be found in full here, also discovered that more work needs to be done in encouraging people form ethnic minority backgrounds to join the industry. Researchers found that the representation of ethnic minority groups in the workforce decreased year-on-year slightly to 13.6%, trailing 5% below the ONS UK population average.

In addition, the application to hiring ratio was a lot higher for ethnic minority groups (90:1) compared to white applications (28.4:1), making it three times as harder to secure a job this year. Depending on their background, the survey, which has been a crucial annual fixture in the built environment sector’s progress tracking since 2016, showed that ethnic minority groups found it between 1.2 to 6.4 times harder to be hired than their white counterparts.

Belinda Blake, senior policy advisor – equality, diversity, and inclusion at National Highways, said: ‘By assessing our workforce against sector benchmarks and ONS UK population statistics, we gather valuable insights that enable us to create a targeted roadmap for improvements.

‘This annual data capture exercise is also instrumental in reinforcing the built environment sector’s dedication to diversity, equality, and inclusion. The report offers essential data, serving as a foundation for setting benchmarks and driving progress across the industry. Together, we hold the power to ignite positive change, guiding the sector towards a future that is more equitable and diverse.’

Researchers likewise discovered that persistent data gaps exist around disability, with 35.2% of respondents’ data not being collected. The ‘prefer not to say’ option increased from 3.2% to 6.5% this year. In addition, while disclosure is increasing only 2.04% of employees identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community, below the ONS UK population average of 3.14%. As a result, the survey now includes pansexual, asexual, and queer categories to align with census data.

Cathryn Greville, head of fairness, inclusion, and respect at Supply Chain Sustainability School, said: ‘The survey demonstrates the critical importance of quality data in addressing equity, diversity, and inclusion issues across the built environment sector.

‘Without relevant data, organisations simply cannot identify, understand and address the real issues they face in their businesses and supply chains, and they cannot track the success of any initiatives put in place to make the workplace more inclusive and successful.’

The Diversity Survey is set to reopen in March 2024, allowing anyone in the built environment to participate anonymously for free.

Image: Gorodenkoff via Shutterstock

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If you believe land or property is not needed and could be put to better economic use, then you can challenge the government by submitting a Right to Contest application.

Various housing organisations and campaign groups have written a joint letter to Felicity Buchan about the amount of homelessness accommodation spaces currently at risk of closure due to the crisis in local government funding.

The letter calls on the government to boost and ringfence funding for supported housing to protect homelessness services commissioned by councils.

Several councils are considering proposals to withdraw funding from organisations that deliver supported accommodation for people facing homelessness, due to the financial pressures facing local authorities.

The letter expresses ‘serious concern at the number of county councils currently proposing to decommission homelessness and other supported housing funding contracts due to severe financial constraints’.

More than half the county councils in England fund homelessness support services, though they are not statutorily required to do so.

‘These services support thousands of people to move away from homelessness each year, many of whom would otherwise be rough sleeping,’ the letter warns. ‘Due to the crisis in local government finances, we’re currently aware of three county council proposals to de-commission homelessness support contracts, of which one has been formally approved.

‘These three councils are collectively projecting a funding gap of £165m in 2024/25, which they currently have no choice but to fill through budget cuts. Forcing councils into cuts will have a long-term negative impact on the public purse, as residents are forced into expensive temporary accommodation, hospital beds, or onto the street.

‘If enacted, these proposals will significantly reduce homelessness provisions. For example, in one county, five accommodation projects and a floating support service will have to close, while in another, over 160 beds for people experiencing homelessness are at risk.’

A Local Government Association (LGA) survey in December found that one in five council leaders think it is likely they will have to issue a Section 114 notice, effectively declaring bankruptcy, either this year or next. Birmingham and Nottingham council have already issued Section 114 notices, placing their non-statutory supported accommodation contracts at risk.

The National Housing Federation (NHF), which helped co-ordinate the joint letter, warned that if these proposals are not prevented through increased and ringfenced government funding, over 250 homes for people who are homeless may be lost across the country, putting those facing homelessness at risk of rough sleeping and increasing the burden on social care and NHS services.

The evidence shows that increasing and ringfencing this funding will also save money. Research by Imogen Blood & Associates, commissioned by the NHF, found that the average cost per person of supported accommodation was £21,000 per person per year, whereas allowing a person to remain homeless for a long period of time cost £43,000 per person per year.

In addition to the NHF and LGA, the letter was co-signed by the Chartered Institute of Housing, Homeless Link, Centrepoint, Rethink Mental Illness, Crisis, Shelter, the National Care Forum, and the Rural Homelessness Counts Coalition.

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Following some shocking report findings, Clive Holland, broadcaster on Fix Radio, discusses the key steps in building a better network to support construction worker’s mental health.

Recent findings have outlined that 82% of builders in the UK grapple with work-related mental health problems every year.

In response to this, Clive Holland, broadcaster on Fix Radio – the UK’s only national radio station dedicated to builders and the trades – has suggested various measures to help workers struggling.

The research, which was carried out by Fix Radio, also uncovered that 92% of construction workers who are struggling with their mental health feel uncomfortable talking about it. With this in mind, Clive has suggested individuals use a self-support app, so they don’t have to talk to others if they don’t want. The app, otherwise known as ‘Construction Industry Helpline’, is packed with information to learn about conditions and how to cope with them.

However, for those that do feel comfortable discussing their mental health problems, Clive has also recommended people either call a 24/7 helpline, text HardHat – a 24/7 service that provides immediate access to text back counselling, or engage with The Lighthouse Club, a company focused in improving the welfare of the construction community in the UK and Ireland. They provide a range of free and proactive services to help companies deliver the best possible support for their employees and families.

Experts discovered that 38% of tradesmen are now experiencing the worst levels of stress and anxiety in their lifetime, which suggests that this support if needed now more than ever.

‘There are several underlying reasons why the rate of suicide in the construction trades is so high. Firstly, there is a macho image in the industry and men are not brilliant at ‘opening up’ and discussing their feelings. But I feel that this is changing slowly, but surely,’ Clive said. ‘Secondly, there is a lot of stress involved in running a small business – there are long hours, few holidays, slow payers, and cash flow issues.’

Clive added: ‘In the last two years particularly, spiralling costs of materials and spiking energy prices have squeezed margins even further. Couple that with the growing skills shortage – it ramps up extra pressures on daily site life. The pandemic has magnified many of these problems – tradespeople will tell you that they have never been this busy. Many are fully booked until the end of the year, if not further.

‘It is also worth remembering that while many of our tradespeople have fantastic skills and deliver outstanding work, the weakest part of their game is dealing with the details of their business. Great tradespeople are not necessarily great businesspeople, and it is worth remembering that they often feel intimidated by the admin and financial side of the business.’

Image: Ümit Yıldırım

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The shopping mall located in South Yorkshire is on the market for £750m and Fraser’s Group has become the latest company to express interest.

Mike Ashely, owner of the Frasers Group, is said to be ‘one of a handful of parties’ to have registered interest in buying Meadowhall, The Times reported.

The mega-mall, which is believed to have halved in value over the last 10 years, was put up for sale last year by its owners, British Land and Norges Bank, with a reported asking price of £750m.

News of the shopping mall being bought comes as the business prepares to open a Frasers department store and a Sports Direct in the former Debenhams unit at the end of The Avenue. In addition, Fraser’s Group already manages a Flannels and a GAME store at the centre, which has over 200 shops and 24m annual visitors.

Against this backdrop, Fraser’s group would arguably be the best organisation to sell to as they already have a history within the trade. In 2023 the company purchased The Mall in Luton for £58m and the Overgate Centre in Dundee for £30m. Following this, they also bought Junction 32, an outlet shopping centre near Castleford, West Yorkshire, for £50m.

In addition, development plans for the shopping mall have been put on hold until a new occupier is confirmed. In November 2021, British Land confirmed plans to use 13 acres of land for warehousing and delivery hubs as online sales continued to soar. At the time it had outline planning permission on development plots 571,000 sq ft.

However, a spokeswoman for British Land, a property company which creates, owns, and manages some of the UK’s best and most sustainable real estate, reportedly claimed that they won’t be progressing with their project until someone buys the Sheffield mall.  

Image: Harrison Qi

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As a potential general election could take place at the end of this year, Karen Charles, executive director of Boyer, considers how the Labour Party could transform the planning and development sector. She begins by considering the pledges that were delivered at their latest political party conference. 

The high priority given to housebuilding at the Labour Party Conference set the issue very firmly at the top of the political agenda. It’s a guarantee that our sector’s work will come into sharp focus as we approach the next general election.

Speeches delivered by Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves covered key topics including strategic planning, local engagement and housing supply; the provision of affordable housing, specifically through new towns; the Green Belt (and newly branded ‘grey belt’); devolution, and the important issue of resourcing local authority planning teams.

We all acknowledge that the system needs to change, but what might change in the first few years of a Labour government, and how might the changes outlined at Labour’s conference impact on the sector?

Affordable housing

Rachel Reeves’ pledge that, ‘We will strengthen the rules to prevent developers from wriggling out of their responsibilities and we will speed up the building of new social and affordable housing,’ made for uncomfortable reading, especially for those of us who routinely deliver 30% plus social / affordable housing in the interests of creating balanced communities and addressing local need.

We are painfully aware of the need for more homes, including market and social housing, to be available at a price which is affordable. Where I am based in the South East, the issue is reaching crisis point. The price of a home, whether to buy or to rent, is inaccessible to many, including essential key workers such as nurses and teachers. This then has consequences for delivering public services which affects us all.

Labour has promised to go ‘net positive on social housing numbers’ by delivering 150,000 social / affordable homes each year. This is in stark contrast to the current government’s record: the past 12 years, according to Inside Housing, has seen 162,000 social rent homes delivered, but 332,000 were sold off or demolished – representing a net loss of over 14,000 a year.

Keir Starmer pledges to deliver a total of 1.5 million homes (social housing and market housing) over the next parliament but this can only be achieved if appropriate land is available, developers are able to secure planning permission expediently and for viable schemes, and resources (labour and materials) are available to deliver the homes. Notably, Keir Starmer’s pledge only matches that of Rishi Sunak’s government which has a housing target of 300,000 homes per year. The difference between the two however might be in their record of delivering homes and meeting this target.

Labour has promised to ‘repurpose the Affordable Homes Programme to direct it overwhelmingly toward the provision of social rented homes’ by scrapping the controversial Infrastructure Levy, reducing the number of social homes sold off each year under Right to Buy and, perhaps most controversially, giving local authorities enhanced compulsory powers to enable them to deliver affordable housing.

The political party accepts that, especially to accommodate affordable housing (because it generally brings about a lower return on investment than market housing) additional land must be acquired, and cheaply.

Labour plans to allow local authorities to buy land through compulsory purchase without needing to factor in the price premium demanded by developers and landowners hoping to secure planning permission – essentially to scrap ‘hope value’ within the compulsory purchase order (CPO) process. This policy was not enthusiastically received by the development industry, partly because of the protracted legal challenges that it would incur, which would be costly, time consuming, and resource-intensive for local planning authorities. Unfortunately, this policy doesn’t have the potential to deliver the homes as quickly or as cheaply as the headlines suggest.

And the issue goes beyond planning and land acquisition. Affordable / social housing is currently a fiscal consideration: it can’t be created if funding is nothing more than a tax on development – increasingly so as spiralling build costs and requirements such as biodiversity net gain push viability to its limits. Affordable housing, and in particular social rented housing, is often the first to go when viability assessments are undertaken. This is because the Community Infrastructure Levy is a priority for those councils in which it has been adopted and is non-negotiable; while development mitigation is a statutory requirement, which leaves little room to divert funding into social housing.

Green Belt

It is encouraging that Matthew Pennycook, shadow minister for housing and planning announced to a fringe meeting, ‘We are going to have to release parts of the Green Belt. We may add to the Green Belt, or enhance parts of the Green Belt, but we have to look at releasing parts of it.’

The Green Belt is now over 70-year old and covers 13% of the UK, surrounding 14 of the country’s 20 largest towns and cities, mostly, but not exclusively, in the south.

Since the Green Belt was introduced in the 1950s, the UK population has grown from around 51 million to over 68 million. Housing need, and especially the requirement for affordable housing, has never been more acute and many local authorities are unable to meet their housing need without strategically reviewing, and ultimately accepting, some development within the Green Belt.

Few would argue for the Green Belt to be abolished, but its value would be increased if its strictures were softened somewhat. The broad-brush approach which succeeded in preventing post-war urban sprawl has led to some land which could benefit from redevelopment being over-protected: contrary to a widely-held belief that the Green Belt is a bucolic ring of verdant countryside open to all, much of it is inaccessible and/or preserves and protects unattractive edge-of-settlement brownfield sites – those which have potential for sustainable development. Currently the development plan process which allows for land to be removed from the Green Belt for residential development in exceptional circumstances is time-consuming and comes with considerable risk. Were Green Belt legislation to allow for local flexibility, it could result in such sites coming forward for development as attractive communities and with accessible natural amenities.

This is where the repurposing of the ‘Grey Belt’ becomes imperative to future development. Back in May, Keir Starmer used a disused petrol station as an example of land within the Green Belt which had little aesthetic value but considerable development value. The petrol station – along with ‘disused car parks’ and ‘dreary wastelands’ – has since been branded the ‘Grey Belt’, representing that currently protected land which many would agree should be made available for development if it is suitably and sustainably located.

It is refreshing to hear politicians challenging strongly-held views about the Green Belt and announcing war on NIMBYism. Specifically, Keir Starmer has positioned himself as diametrically opposed to the backbench Tory MPs who caused consternation last December in branding himself a YIMBY (Yes In My Back Yard). This is a controversial label to take on and if Labour wins the general election by gaining seats in traditionally Tory strongholds, it will be interesting to see to what extent he can remain so staunchly pro-development in such areas.

Brownfield development

Many of the sweeping statements made in the conference hall will require close consideration, either to determine whether they are realistic, or alternatively whether they will result in any real change.

One such example is the commitment that building on brownfield land would have a ‘stronger presumption in favour of permission’. Brownfield development currently has a stronger presumption in favour of development than greenfield land. Whether planning policy can result in more brownfield development, especially for affordable housing, will, as it does now, depend on viability: if the costs of remediation, mitigation, access and numerous other constraints stack up to such an extent that the provision of affordable housing, for example, is impossible, its benefit must be questioned.

Georgian-inspired new towns

It is widely acknowledged that to meet annual housing targets of 300,000, the creation of more new towns is imperative: that figure has not been exceeded since the extensive new towns programme of the 1970s.

Labour offers a variation on the typical new town. It has been announced that the new towns of the 2020s and 2030s would, unlike the previous generation of new towns which was primarily modernist, take inspiration from five-storey Georgian-style townhouses.

In addition to meeting the need (and current government objective) of ‘gentle density’, Victorian and Georgian-style development could significantly help in gaining support for new development. A recent study used extensive polling to demonstrate that in the design of new homes, traditional building design was much preferred to contemporary architecture. Across all demographics, a large majority agreed that newly built properties should fit in with their surroundings. This was used to substantiate the claim that NIMBYism can be overcome if better design reflects people’s desire leaning towards (traditional) building design.

This was an eye-opening revelation for the architecture profession. Nevertheless it was widely recognised as having the potential to change the perception of newbuilds across the country and thereby resolve the housing crisis.

Whilst the principle of traditional building styles may be preferred, unlike the Victorians and Georgians, housebuilders today need to accommodate new needs, including the requirement for cars to be parked with natural surveillance while not dominating the streetscene.

The role of development corporations

The new towns of the 50s, 60s and 70s were made possible thanks to publicly funded development corporations and the same legislation has enabled more recent successes such as at Ebbsfleet. Projects such as this, when it comes to the delivery phase in particular, benefit from being well co-ordinated around infrastructure delivery, target-focused with both plan-making and development management powers to expediate decision making. They demonstrate that large-scale development, driven from the centre, enshrined in regional policy and implemented over a period much longer than a single parliamentary term, can be successful.

For such large schemes, even with the benefit of a development corporation, land assembly can be complex. The current compulsory purchase regime is slow-moving, complex, and resource-hungry and extensive reforms will therefore be needed to expedite new town delivery.

Public funding and political will is also necessary to deliver the requisite amount of homes, and thus the requisite proportion of social housing: not simply shared ownership and discount market schemes, but socially rented homes that local authorities, with rapidly expanding housing lists, are crying out for. There are many areas that would benefit substantially from the benefits that development corporations can bring.

Conclusion

Labour has set out an ambitious programme of planning reforms – some potential quick fixes; others more long term. Keir Starmer sees this as a way to differentiate himself from his anti-development competition, enticing voters who are currently priced out of the housing market or struggle to take a step up the housing ladder. But the pledges need to be backed up with realistic plans.

If Keir Starmer is successful in winning the next general election, he will have to start making changes from day one. A parliamentary term of five years is a short period of time when it comes reforming the planning system, speeding up the preparation of Local Plans, reviewing the Green Belt, creating new towns and more than doubling housing output.

We should not forget that the current government had ambitious plans once – the Planning White Paper Planning for the Future, even the Levelling Up White Paper, were bold initiatives announced in the early stages of the current Parliament which have so far come to very little. But there is considerable potential in many of Labour’s proposals, and we certainly have an interesting year ahead.

Images: Tania Malréchauffé and Gonzalo Facello

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Why the built environment could benefit from effective retrofit strategies 

New findings suggest that if homes were to be retrofit with a combination of existing renewable technologies, they could help achieve net zero targets.

The study, which was led by experts at Nottingham Trent University (NTU), focused on combining existing insulation technology with solar panels, air, or ground-source heat pumps, shared small-scale wind turbines, and shared large-scale batteries and heat storage facilities.  

 

Published in Elsevier’s Smart Energy journal, the study looked at 27 homes in Nottingham that were insulated with external wall insulation, with a 200mm core of glass wool. In addition, with various upgrades, experts discovered homes could reach zero-carbon. 

To reach zero-carbon, the homes required various technological upgrades which include:

• Two small-scale vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) – that spin vertically as similar to a helicopter blade
• Three 41.4kW ground-source heat pumps 
• A 40kW battery to store excess electricity which can be used during peak periods of demand
• A 12 cubic metres water-based thermal energy store to save excess heat energy for peak periods
• 21 photovoltaic solar panels per home to harness up to 2.7 kilowatt (kW) per home per day

Professor Ianakiev, of the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, said: ‘In urban areas, vertical access wind turbines have low noise emissions and can harness wind energy from any direction, during low and high winds, 24 hours a day, making them particularly useful during the windy winter months.

‘To complement these turbines, when the potential for wind energy is reduced during mild summer months, photovoltaic solar cells can harness the energy from the sun during the long daylight hours. 

‘All the excess electricity can be stored in a large, shared battery which can be drawn on during peak periods, such as during the winter evenings.

‘In turn, just three ground-source heat pumps can provide heat energy all year round, with a shared heat store facility available to be drawn on during peak demand.’

Dr Naik, who worked on the study as part of his PhD at NTU, said: ‘This research presents a pragmatic approach for achieving zero-energy homes by harnessing wind and solar power.

‘It has proven that the technologies needed are already available, and when combined, create the critical mass which is required to power homes sustainably from renewable sources to help avert a looming climate catastrophe.’

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New City Vision have submitted a proposal to create new homes and regenerate Govan Graving Docks in Glasgow.

The new project, which has been designed by Glasgow-based architects O’Donnell Brown, would see the construction of up to 304 new homes. This plan marks the latest milestone in a wider masterplan to regenerate the three Docks.

Originally built in the 19th century, architects are keen to restore its history within the new development. Work is already underway to reopen Dock No1 for historic ship repair, with future phases including the development of a unique heritage park that will serve the existing community.

As it stands, the only thing left on this site is a pumphouse, which developers plan to convert into a visitor and community attraction. In addition, the submitted proposals outline that the new homes will take up just 20% of the overall site footprint. Following completion of the entire project, it is intended that 80% will be transferred to community ownership.

 Whilst building the development, experts pledged to keep the community involved and they have been sharing regular updates through the project website, a Facebook page, and a series of newsletters distributed to around 1,500 individuals living or working around the site.

Harry O’Donnell, chairman of New City Vision said: ‘An integral component of our vision to bring life back to the Docks, I am delighted to have submitted our residential proposals to build new housing along the southern side of the site and have reached this milestone in our journey.

‘Taking up just 20% of the overall site footprint, these plans have been sensitively designed to complement our vision, ensuring development of a new and dynamic space fit for the 21st century while also increasing supply of much-needed new homes.

‘As this proposal has been the subject of extensive community consultation over the past two years, I would like to thank all those who have provided feedback throughout the consultation process, and I look forward to continuing this engagement as we bring forward our proposals for the component parts of our wider vision.’

A planning application was submitted to Glasgow City Council in December 2023 and it is anticipated that a decision will be reached in spring 2024.

Image: O’Donnell Brown

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Prices of construction materials are already high, however an expert has warned that the current tragedies occurring on the Red Sea could impact the supply and price of materials used in UK construction sites. 

On 12th January the US and UK armed forces launched a string of military strikes in Yemen. This action saw 60 targets hit across 28 Houthi-held locations in the west of the country, and targeted munitions depots and launching systems, in an effort to limit the rebel group’s ability to launch further attacks.

The attacks came after a campaign by the Houthi rebels in the Red Sea in retaliation against Israel’s action in Gaza.

As a result of the action, some of the largest shipping companies, including Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, and Mediterranean Shipping Company, have suspended travel along the route.

However, experts are predicting that more companies could be impacted, as, in an unfortunate turn of events, the attack on 12th did not just stop at the one. On Tuesday, a Greek-owned bulk carrier was damaged after being hit by a missile while traveling in the southern part of the Red Sea – the third incident to happen in three days.

In one particular case, Noble Francis, Construction Products Association economics director, has warned that a long conflict could make it even more difficult and expensive to import certain materials.

‘If disruptions persist, it will significantly affect some imported products through delayed supply and [further] rise sin freight prices,’ Francis said. ‘Construction product prices are still high so if the disruptions persist in the Red Sea, it could lead to some delays and construction product price rises, exacerbating problems for some housebuilders and contractors in 2024.’

As it stands, delivery prices have already skyrocketed as a result of climbing inflation, with one shipping marketplace showing a trebling in the past month of the cost of bringing a 40ft container from China to Northern Europe.

Against this backdrop, Francis pointed out that although three-quarters of products used on UK construction sites are made in this country, some reply on parts from abroad.

Francis added: ‘Manufacturers using imported materials, or components and product importers, will be keeping a keen eye on [the conflict] to see if it is a temporary blip or has effects over the course of months.’

Image: Nathan Cima

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