Ask-a-planorak #3 - Philip Barnes, Group Land & Planning Director at Barratt Developments

If you want advice on navigating your way through a national housing crisis, well… it might be worth asking a housebuilder. And UK housebuilders don’t come any bigger than Barratt.

Philip Barnes needs no introduction. He’s been at Barratt for 7 years after 2 decades at Nathanial Lichfield and partners - a #planorak par excellence - and (more important than all of that!) he writes an absolutely must-read blog.

Few of us have thought more deeply and widely than Philip about ways through the housing crisis and what the planning system can do to help.

I asked Philip 10 questions on Barratt’s return to activity as lock-down eases, and the changes he’d like to see both to law and policy to help the market recover.

(1) You wrote recently about Barratt’s progress through the early weeks of lockdown. We’ve since had reams of guidance from MHCLG, including a written ministerial statement on construction site working hours, guidance on flexibility over CIL and on viewing new homes. What’s the latest state of play on Barratt’s return to housebuilding?

We are currently back building building on about half our 400 or so active sites. By the end of June we hope to be back on all, and that the current restrictions in Scotland will have been lifted.

(2) What have been the most difficult obstacles to getting your sites open and operational again?

Ensuring the safety of our employees, supply chain and customers. It has taken a huge effort from our operational teams to remodel the sites and deliver the necessary training to ensure we can build safely. From outdoor sinks, to new signage, to widened walkways, and much else in between.

(3) As those sites re-open, what do you expect to be the challenges to returning to pre-lockdown rates of delivery?

Firstly build capacity. Achieving social distancing on our sites will dictate reduced manpower and speed of build. And secondly market conditions. The rate of market absorption always influences how fast we can build and sell and we await sustained data on how the pandemic has and will affect market demand.

(4) What are the most important things that central or local government could do to ease those challenges?

The first thing is to say how well both MHCLG and many LPAs have responded to the pandemic. If I was to pick a planning change which is still missing it would be the ability, in England, to extend the life of planning permission automatically. Or very easily.

(5) If you ran MHCLG for the day, what would be top of your agenda?

Suspect it may be more for HMT but an extension to Help to Buy is important to create more confidence to first time buyers and lenders. They will be critical to the recovery.

(6) You wrote recently about the possibility for a “reversal of the current weakening of the 2012 NPPF”. How important do you think amendments to national planning policy might be to fuelling our economic recovery and – the tricky bit! – what would you change?

National planning policy has a key role to play and previous recessions demonstrate how important housebuilding can be to driving recovery economic growth and recovery. Although I am huge supporter of Green Belt as a concept, I would change policy to ensure that, where appropriate and necessary, perhaps two or three per cent of it can be released to provide the amount and type of housing that people in our great cities want. Does Manchester need a Green Belt 45% larger than the conurbation itself? Is it good that in Surrey golf courses accommodate more land than housing?

(7) What is your response to those (the “doves”!) who suggest that the requirement to demonstrate a 5 year housing land supply, or the consequences of not demonstrating one, should be relaxed to allow for slower delivery under lockdown? 

A key role of the planning system is to provide enough homes to address population growth and the inability of many households to purchase a home. If the pandemic leads to slower build rates then the best LPAs will, as always, find new ways and new sites to ensure housebuilding keeps pace with these needs. The Government hasn’t advised that less babies should be conceived and born during the pandemic so I’m not expecting them to say less homes need to be built as a result of it. 

(8) We’re in a brave new world of online consultations for planning applications and virtual committee meetings. What’s your view on how Local Planning Authorities have been responding to lock-down?

The response of the local planning departments to the pandemic has, overall, been brilliant and much exceeded my expectations. But some, and perhaps they could have predicted beforehand, are not stepping up and innovating to the same extent. They need to do so as the new ways of working will outlive the pandemic.

(9) We’re also into week 2 of the Planning Inspectorate trialling “virtual events”. Robert Jenrick appears to want them rolled out by mid-June, but PINS seems to be sticking to its 3-6 month timetable for full roll-out of digital appeals and plan examinations. What’s your view on how the Planning Inspectorate has responded to lockdown?

Less than 5% of our homes are consented by appeal. It’s a last resort as our preference is to work in partnership with LAs. So I haven’t watching what has been happening at PINS closely enough to give a meaningful comment.

(10) Looking beyond lockdown, you’ve talked recently about the problems with a “monomaniacal race for high density”. What sort of developments do you think the planning system should be encouraging? 

Lockdown is going to drive demand for homes with gardens and the ability to work comfortably from home. Barratt is ready for that challenge and we hope LAs are as well. Outside London, the housing which people actually want, isn’t endless tower blocks of private rented flats, and my hope is that the planning system will soon respond.

Thanks for your answers, Philip, and stay well #planoraks.