Latest News

A year into Labour’s planning reforms

We are now over a year into the Labour Government’s tenure; the development land market is showing signs of both renewed activity and persistent challenges. Labour’s ambitious target of 1.5 million homes over five years has injected urgency into planning reform, with the revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) now beginning to influence land supply and developer behaviour.

The introduction of the “grey belt” lower-quality green belt land earmarked for development has opened new opportunities, particularly in areas in which Robinson & Hall operates. The reinstatement of mandatory housing targets and the requirement for a five-year housing land supply have also pushed local authorities to bring forward more sites. Promoters who we work with have already gained success at appeal on a number of sites where the local authority could not show a 5-year land supply.

Planning activity and strategic land

The strategic land market continues to become increasingly competitive as the number of land promoters pursuing opportunities continues to increase, which assists landowners in receiving increasingly competitive terms. However, landowners should review land promoters’ terms holistically to ensure that they sign up with the right partner, not just the promotion partner offering the lowest promotion fee.

Affordable housing and Section 106

Labour’s reforms have placed affordable housing at the forefront. In most cases, grey belt sites will be required to have 50% of the homes as affordable. Housing associations are currently active on certain sites as they have money to spend to meet their internal housing portfolio targets. We are finding on smaller sites of approximately 50 units, where we have been involved in the sales process, affordable housing associations are outbidding small to medium-sized developers. This is likely to be partly due to small to medium size enterprise (SME) developers being more affected by the current interest rates, and whilst the SME developers need to make a profit, the Affordable Housing Associations (AHAs) do not need to do so. If the Bank of England’s base rate is lowered, we may start to see more competitive offers from SME developers, although the Bank of England base rate held at 4% in November and it is unclear whether it will stay at the same level after the next review. Landowners should also be aware of the implications of selling to an AHA to include tax implications, which must be considered to achieve a successful sale.

Despite global trade uncertainty, inflation, and interest rate volatility, the development land market continues to be resilient, likely due to the chronic under supply of housing.

New towns

The UK Government has confirmed plans to develop 12 new towns across England as part of Labour’s aim to tackle the housing crisis and stimulate economic growth. These towns are expected to deliver at least 10,000 homes each. We are actively advising a number of landowners who hold land in or around some of the designated areas. Please also see our new towns article below.

The November Budget

While reforms may unlock new opportunities, they also introduce new risks and uncertainties which developers, landowners and investors will need to adapt to. We continue to support landowners and developers in navigating this evolving landscape, securing promotion agreements, and unlocking value from strategic and consented land.

At Robinson & Hall, we specialise in helping landowners realise the full value of their land through well-structured promotion and option agreements. With planning policy evolving rapidly and demand for new housing remaining strong, now is an ideal time to explore the development potential of your land. We work with our clients to:

• Identify suitable sites for development
• Identify suitable promotion partners
• Negotiate favourable terms with promoters
• Guide you through the planning process
• Maximise the value of your land once planning consent is secured

If you own land that might be suitable for development, we can help you navigate the complexities of planning and development with confidence. Please contact me.