Why the UK needs a public-private solution to address the housing crisis

Earlier this week Arcadis published "Solving the housing crisis: the big idea" - a new 30 year strategy to deliver 1.5M homes with a step-change in delivery to generate 97,500 new jobs and £1.3 trillion boost to UK GDP. Simon Light explains.

Simon Light
19 November 2015

Twitter FacebookLinkedIn

Print

Topics 

Housing

The UK is facing a housing crisis. It is estimated that new build outputs need to rise from current levels of 150,000 to at least 240,000 new homes per annum.

We are simply not producing enough new housing, either in number or tenure type, to meet the demands of a growing and ageing population. With availability and affordability of housing acting as a vital foundation for the UK’s economy, this is a very real issue affecting both our regional and international competiveness. 

"A ‘National Housing Service’ agency would alleviate pressures on housing supply and affordability, produce employment and skills opportunities and ultimately create higher levels of economic productivity and greater international competitiveness."

Crises of affordability, supply levels and skills shortages to deliver the necessary capacity within the required timescales, have combined to create an issue of national importance. However, this isn’t just about housing availability; but also housing choice.

We need the housing market to become more sustainable and to achieve a shift in tenure mix that is more accurately aligned to housing need and demand, rather than the concentration of a dominance in homes for sale over other tenures. It is clear that the current housing model isn’t working.

With the UK population projected to increase by an additional 10 million in the next 25 years, the private sector alone will never be able to meet the required number of new homes.

We have seen the focus currently being given to the country’s infrastructure, but now is the time to apply an even bigger ambition to address the housing crisis. The only way to meet demand is through a strong public-private, direct delivery model. The influence of the wider economy and market cycles as a barrier to long term planning is why we can’t have a strategy solely reliant on private sector-delivered homes-for-sale.

"We need the housing market to become more sustainable and to achieve a shift in tenure mix that is more accurately aligned to housing need and demand, rather than the concentration of a dominance in homes for sale over other tenures."

This needs to be augmented by a public sector-led or enabled supply, spread across affordable and social rent, shared ownership, private rent, private- for-sale and later living products. A more cohesive, national, apolitical impetus needs to be given to solving the housing crisis in a way that will fulfil social need and boost economic growth beyond a single parliamentary lifecycle. 

A ‘National Housing Service’ agency would alleviate pressures on housing supply and affordability, produce employment and skills opportunities and ultimately create higher levels of economic productivity and greater international competitiveness. It would also be wholly supportive of the continued growth of private sector output through the free market mechanism.

This proposal is one that will make a tangible impact on the UK, improve quality of life for people across the country and increase housing supply in England over a sustained period of time. 

Simon Light is UK Client Development Director at Arcadis, the Design & Consultancy firm for natural and built assets