Will Gove’s plan to make ‘better use of buildings’ deliver homes for all?

I am a planner and not a political commentator.

As a planning professional, I believe delivering quality homes is one of the biggest challenges we face. Unfortunately, being a hot (political) issue, it is often mired by political grandstanding.

This is why Michael Gove’s recent address, in which he spoke about making “better use of buildings” and “inner city densification” struck a chord with me. Converting empty shops and offices will rejuvenate high streets and contribute to addressing, even if only in small amounts, the chronic housing crisis we currently face, as well as help some business space owners’ bottom line.

However, many commentators, including myself, have pointed out that focusing wholly on urban needs ignores rural areas’ requirements for much needed housing. But regrettably, talk of housing in rural areas often solicits the comment “concreting over the countryside”.

I know from a personal and professional perspective that housing delivery and growth in rural areas is incredibly important to its vitality, improving demographics and affordability – it’s a good proportion of what I do. But I also know that we have to increase the number of homes available to rent or buy in urban areas. The fundamentals speak for themselves:

• A recent report by the Institute of Fiscal Studies concluded that in the first quarter of 2023, only 5% of private rental properties were affordable for housing benefit recipients – down from 23% in 2020.

• According to the Royal College of Nurses the high cost of accommodation is “pushing nursing staff out of the city … and (this) could devastate the health system”.

• Social care leaders have stated that the sector is struggling to attract staff and fill vacancies, partly because of a lack of suitable housing.

• Competition exists with students needing accommodation – more than 350,000 purpose-built student beds across the UK’s 30 largest university towns and cities are needed to meet the expected demand for accommodation. In:
  • London, the bed shortage surpassed 100,000 – half the expected demand.
  • Bristol, only 2,900 purpose-built student beds have been delivered since 2018, but demand has grown by 8,000 during that time.

Therefore, the principle of converting empty urban offices and shops in the right locations into new homes and accommodation makes sense to me, assuming the quality of the conversion is not compromised – i.e., sacrificing quality in the pursuit of a quick profit.

My Commercial Agency colleagues talk about the fact that in city centres and large urban areas there is a ‘flight to quality’, i.e., companies, which have adopted a RTO (Return To Office) strategy now seek amenity rich, flexible quality space for their teams to collaborate and innovate. This aligns with landlords seeking to fulfil their tenants’ ESG demands for high-value Class A accommodation in central business districts – and in the process, meet their own ESG goals.

Many office owners, faced with diminishing demand for their Class B office space (as tenants become more discerning about the carbon footprint of the building they occupy) are refurbishing their space to provide Class A facilities – or, as near to it as possible.

So, what will happen to Class C office spaces – i.e., properties which could be over 20 years old; have the wrong floorplates; are located in less desirable areas; usually feature outdated building tech and therefore have limited opportunity to expand investment yields and capital value.

Rather than demolish and reconstruct, converting them for other uses will tick owners’ ESG, Carbon Neutral and financial boxes – and makes huge sense to me.

Mr Gove’s mention of Office for Place, the new Stoke-on-Trent based organisation which will “lead a design revolution” intrigued me. Whilst I welcome any initiative which will turn our post-industrial landscape into “beautiful, popular, greener and sustainable places”, will my hope that empty Class C offices and business spaces be converted, be vindicated? I hope so, because I believe that Planners have a duty to ensure that developers look beyond just ROI (Return on Investment) and ensure they deliver quality homes, not just revenue-generating spaces to rent or sell.

Another strand of Michael Gove’s address was about making it easier to extend homes via loft and house extensions – the theory being expanding your home would probably negate the necessity to move and incur costs such as stamp duty, estate agents fees (for the disposal of your home), removal costs, etc. – are key factors to consider during a cost-of-living crisis. It makes sense but, it is not an option for everyone.

Behind all the Gove announcements is the spectre of the planning backlog. Well, the new Planning Skills Development Fund (PSDF), a £13.5m investment to fund the hiring of additional planning officers, as well as set up a new “super squad” team of planners and experts should help but, there is always more to be done. I accept the inevitability of the upcoming planning fee increases (35% Major and 25% for Minor Applications), however only on the proviso that this benefits Planning Departments. What concerns me is that the additional fees will not be ringfenced.

As I said at the outset, Planning is a political football which will be in play a lot as we head towards the forthcoming general election.

What we really need is an apolitical national housing strategy. One which is not just driven by soundbites (such as new home targets of 300K a year), but by a shared strategic vision for our communities – both urban and rural.

We also need to deliver homes now.  The wider application of additional Permitted Development rights will help but there will still be a need for prior approval although it is our duty, as responsible professionals, to ensure the homes we deliver are of sufficient quality. After all, shelter or a home underpins our primary (or Maslow-vian) Hierarchy of Needs.

 We must not lose sight of the fact that we need to cater for all.  We need more new homes in rural areas and, it should be easier to convert rural spaces into new quality homes.

However, we must not forget that most people are not digital nomads. With Return to Office strategies and escalating costs of transport and ULEZ charges, many of us need and/or want to live near the hospitals, care homes, workplaces, and lecture theatres we attend.

Plus, there is a global phenomenon we are not immune to. Urbanisation is accelerating across the world and currently: today, some 330 million urban households cannot access secure affordable accommodation. According to consulting firm McKinsey & Company, this will grow by more than 30 percent – to 1.6 billion people – by 2025.

The housing crisis continues to escalate in this country whether its inner city, out in the sticks or somewhere in between. It requires immediate action. That is why we must embrace Mr Gove’s “better use of buildings” philosophy in both urban and rural areas – even if it proves no more than a war cry as the Conservatives prepare for the (election) battle ahead.

Scott O’Dell
Senior Associate at Fisher German

01530567479
[email protected]