A court judgment that paves the way for more housebuilding on smaller sites has been welcomed by the Government.
The Court of Appeal decision restores a government policy which means affordable homes contributions will fall to those bigger developers building the largest sites – while those smaller builders developing sites of 10 homes or fewer will be able to get work started on their sites, without facing such charges.
Housing and Planning Minister Brandon Lewis said: “We’re committed to building more homes, including record numbers of affordable homes – key to this is removing unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy that prevents builders getting on sites in the first place.
“Today’s judgment by the Court of Appeal restores common sense to the system, and ensures that those builders developing smaller sites – including self-builders – don’t face costs that could stop them from building any homes at all.
“This will now mean that builders developing sites of fewer than 10 homes will no longer have to make an affordable homes contribution that should instead fall to those building much larger developments.”
The judgement has been welcomed by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, praised the ruling, commenting: “We welcome the Appeal Court’s decision to confirm the Government’s right to waive Section 106 affordable housing contributions for sites of ten units or fewer. It’s widely recognised that if we are tackle the long-term undersupply of new homes in this country, then we will need to see renewed growth in output from SME house builders. Today’s verdict will go a long way in backing these firms. It will make the economics of small scale development that much easier and should increase the use of small sites in sustainable locations for the delivery of new homes.”
