Affordable housing solution #4: Create equity in housing supply

Today we hear from Jay Morton, associate at Bell Phillips architects, and Simon Bayliss, managing director at HTA Design, who have helped draw up a 20-point ‘positive’ manifesto for change alongside fellow collective members Assael, Grounded, Pitman Tozer, Mae and Mikhail Riches.

Each week, architects from this group of leading housing specialists will explain how their five priority action points could work.

Since launching earlier this month, the campaigners’ dedicated website has had more than 1,000 visitors and continues to look to expand the list of supporting practices.

As well as getting the message out to potential parliamentary candidates, the group intends to follow up post-election with the new government.

Source:HTA/Bell Phillips

Simon Bayliss, managing director at HTA and Jay Morton, associate at Bell Phillips

Priority 4: Create equity in housing supply

Jay Morton I have always believed that access to equitable, good-quality housing is fundamental for a well-functioning, happy society. Currently, it is estimated that poor-quality housing costs the NHS £1.4 billion a year.

At Bell Phillips, on completion of our schemes and visiting new residents, we have seen first hand the joy and relief that come from moving into a stable home after struggling to raise children in poor-quality temporary accommodation.

We need to act now and build the high-quality homes that are urgently needed. This will provide everyone with the opportunity to put down roots and build a life, which should not be too much to ask, especially in a wealthy country like the UK.

Simon Bayliss We are living in an era of permanent crisis. The Global Financial Crisis of 2008 has given way to a crisis in health and social care, energy supply, and the cost of living. All have their root causes in the UK’s chronic housing crisis.

We are living in an era of permanent crisis

For over 40 years, we have failed to deliver enough homes in the UK to meet the demand and the changing needs of our population. Successive governments have set targets to build 300,000 new homes each year but, between 2000 and 2020, the average annual completions were only 178,000. In contrast, France, with a similar population of around 67 million, has never built fewer than 300,000 homes annually in the same period, completing approximately 4 million more homes than the UK.

High demand and limited supply have led to property prices and rents to significantly outstrip wages, increasing the number of families living in substandard conditions. This increases financial instability and poverty and negatively impacts mental and physical health. Without decent housing, many are forced to delay starting a family, slowing the UK’s birth rate to below 1.5 for the first time since records began.

We need action!

Without a rapid and significant improvement in both housing delivery and housing equity, the future health and prosperity of the nation is at stake. Equity in housing supply needs to be a priority for the next government.

Bell Phillips' Flowers Close scheme for Network Housing Group in Dollis Hill, north-west London

Policies:
4.1 Reduce Right to Buy subsidy: Steadily diminish subsidy over term or parliament 

Creating equity in housing supply across the UK requires the building of a new generation of council homes and stopping the loss of existing council housing through Right to Buy. As Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester Mayor, wryly noted: ‘In the face of a desperate housing crisis, the existence of right to buy means we are in effect trying to refill a bath without being allowed to put the plug back in.’

Right to Buy needs to be phased out by a progressive reduction in rate of discount, ensuring that the proceeds of all sales are mandated to be spent on the delivery of new affordable homes. New affordable homes built should not be subject to Right to Buy, they should remain affordable in perpetuity.

4.2 Planned Approach: Develop regional spatial plans to generate employment where housing is affordable and sustainable energy infrastructure available. Ensure Integrated urbanism – prioritise sites with social infrastructure and employment opportunities included in schemes

We need to build more homes, but housing alone is not enough. It is crucial that new developments are designed to create vibrant communities, with access to essential infrastructure such as schools, shops, entertainment, and – most importantly – employment opportunities.

The next government should invest in regional plans that integrate industrial strategies to boost employment in well-connected areas. These plans should be implemented nationwide as a more direct and impactful approach to the levelling-up agenda

Case Study: Hanham Hall in Bristol is a zero-carbon community of some 185 homes, designed by HTA as part of the Labour Government’s Carbon Challenge programme. It was a successful pilot study demonstrating the housing industry’s capability to meet proposed regulations for all new homes to be net zero from 2016.

Hanham Hall housing, Bristol by HTA Design

4.3 Regulate: Local Plans to mandate sites mix of type, tenure, development quantum, and to address specialist needs (later living etc) and to set Affordable Housing percentage as a requirement, not a target

In past times of great housing need, the UK demonstrated its capacity to deliver design quality and innovation at a serious scale, developing tested housing typologies and creating some of the most loved and influential places in the world.

There is no reason this cannot be achieved again. The demand is clear, and the costs of further delay are increasingly evident. We have available land, infrastructure capacity, and the skills, experience, and technology to build better. We must rapidly increase the rate of delivery but ensure that the percentage of affordable housing provision for every development is set as a minimum requirement, rather than a target based on viability. This should be set locally in the Local Plan, and coordinated with regional and national Affordable Housing Plan requirements.

In addition to building new homes, it is essential that we construct a diverse range of housing types, including starter homes, family homes, and later-living residences, both for sale and rent. This diversity will provide choice and ensure that everyone can find a suitable home regardless of their economic situation or stage in life. It also ensures more efficient use of our housing stock. For example, good-quality later-living housing can create a beneficial chain reaction as older residents move out of family homes.

Source:Bell Phillips

Pix Sutton housing by Bell Phillips

4.4 Establish a Royal Commission for the Temporary Accommodation emergency

The state of temporary accommodation in the UK is a scandal. A recent study by the Financial Times reported that the number of UK households in temporary accommodation in England more than doubled from 48,000 to 112,000 between 2010 and 2023. The impact on the lives and futures of these households is immense, and the cost to the taxpayer is also huge. Local Councils spent almost £1.8 billion on emergency shelter last year alone, a figure that has also more than doubled over the past decade.

Without action on this issue, we are failing people, denying the basic right to put down roots. A Royal Commission will bring the required urgency to this crisis and, importantly, allow all parties to come together to solve it.

Our targeted outcome is to achieve fair and equitable housing provision and the right homes where they are needed.

We cannot return to a more equitable society, and with it a greener and more resilient economy, without building far more and much better housing.

In the words of Kate McIntosh: ‘To deliver that most basic of human needs for a civilised life, namely decent, secure, and affordable homes for all, without which good health and education are unattainable.’

To support the campaign visit the website or email mail@5affordablehousingpriorities.co.uk