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The government has announced a series of reforms aimed at supporting small and medium-sized housebuilders and increasing housing delivery across the UK.
The proposals include streamlining planning rules for smaller developments, easing regulatory requirements and providing targeted financial support. The reforms are designed to help achieve the Plan for Change target of building 1.5 million homes.
Under the changes, minor developments of up to nine homes will benefit from faster decisions and eased Biodiversity Net Gain requirements. A new category for medium-sized sites, covering developments of 10 to 49 homes, will introduce simpler rules and reduce costs, including a proposed exemption from the Building Safety Levy.
Homes England will release more land exclusively for SME builders, and a new National Housing Delivery Fund will be created to support long-term finance options. The government also plans to pilot a Small Sites Aggregator, which will combine small brownfield sites and attract private investment to deliver new social rent homes and address temporary accommodation challenges.
Additional support measures include £100m in SME Accelerator Loans from the Home Building Fund, £10m for councils to fund environmental assessment specialists, and a £1.2m PropTech Innovation Fund to support innovation in small site delivery.
Deputy prime minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner said: “Smaller housebuilders must be the bedrock of our Plan for Change to build 1.5 million homes and fix the housing crisis we’ve inherited – and get working people on the housing ladder.
“For decades the status quo has failed them and it’s time to level the playing field. Today we’re taking urgent action to make the system simpler, fairer and more cost effective, so smaller housebuilders can play a crucial role in our journey to get Britain building.”
Jeremy Gray, head of external affairs at the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), said: “This is a big change for the planning system and one that acknowledges the hardships faced by SME housebuilders over the last few decades, which have resulted in their decline.
“The FMB has long called for reform to the planning system to support SMEs, and so the decision to streamline requirements on sites of up to nine homes, alongside faster decision making, is a positive step. The medium site designation will also be welcomed by members as it reduces planning hurdles, enabling them to scale up their businesses.”
Further measures include modernising planning committees to ensure councillors focus on significant proposals while expert planning officers handle smaller projects. Once a development has been approved in principle, technical details will no longer return to committees, speeding up housebuilding and reducing delays.
The government also plans to train up to 120,000 new apprentices, including within construction, to support the industry’s future workforce.
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