RICS Response to Rachel Reeves' Speech

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, has said in her first address to the nation today, that growth will be the “national mission of the government” and RICS is pleased that housing, planning, and infrastructure are at the centre of that mission, reiterating the importance the built environment has on the country's economic wellbeing.

Labour’s ambitions are bold, but by pulling the right policy levers, they can be achievable. Delivering 1.5 million homes over a five-year period will be no easy feat. To achieve this, the public and private sectors would be required to deliver 300,000 new homes a year—a figure not hit since the 1960s, which was a time when local councils played a far greater role in housing delivery.

It is clear the current planning system is not fit for purpose and we welcome reform to the National Planning Policy Framework to help meet our future housing and energy needs. This includes 300 new planners, which is very welcomed but in reality, represents roughly one extra person per planning authority and it is essential we don’t just recruit, but retain these highly-skilled planners.

RICS has long called for the return of compulsory housing targets, and these will be essential if the government wants to achieve its 1.5 million new homes target. With the majority of local plans in England outdated, we need planning authorities to produce updated housing plans to reflect this new target and justify their housing development strategy.

We also welcome the government’s announcement on the Grey Belt, a plan which may yield around 100,000 to 200,000 houses. However, a holistic, rather than piecemeal, approach for the Green Belt is required to provide access to green infrastructure, protect biodiversity, and recognize the economic need for urban growth.

It is becoming increasingly common for much-needed housing to be blocked by challenges in our energy infrastructure, and RICS is calling for urgent investment in our electrical grid capacity to help support our future housing and infrastructure needs.

Therefore, policymakers must introduce in a timely manner a programme of policies that speed up development and add significant resources to planning departments up and down the country. This will be particularly pertinent in Labour’s quest to achieve economic growth; many studies have agreed on the positive correlation between GDP growth and the availability of homes. If housing delivery is backloaded towards the end of parliament, then the electorate may not see benefits quickly enough.

RICS looks forward to assisting the new government in achieving their targets. We stand ready to provide our expertise, resources, and support to ensure these ambitious goals are met, and to help build a sustainable, well-planned future for our nation's housing and infrastructure.