C$ 8pm Tonight Britain's Homebuilding Scandal

[Calcaria]

CHANNEL 4

Britain's Homebuilding Scandal: Channel 4 Dispatches
Today 8pm - 8:30pm Channel 4


Summary
Liam Halligan investigates why so many young people are struggling to find their own place to live, examining allegations that major house-builders and developers are deliberately holding back land to keep house prices high and maximise profits.

[youfoolishboy]

Welcome aboard Calcaria thanks for your posts provoking discussion long may you continue

[WandleHens]

Well I just watched it while making tomorrows bread. Not convinced. Didn't the Barker Report look into so called 'Land Banking' and conclude that it is not the main issue.

From obtaining full detailed PP to handing over the first property on a site takes a tremendous effort. The log jams can be as simple or complex. Successive governments have had an overriding preferment for Brown Field development. Several that have been built out near me have needed extensive decontamination and special measures during the construction phase in order to deliver the homes. A while back, I was offered work on a site which was then delayed due to Newts! I've worked on two sites where the ground works took twice as long because service tunnels were found under the land which had not been known about prior to construction starting. I've been on sites where work stopped due to problems/delays with utilities/ unlisted sub stations.

As for builders delaying the build to profit from increasing prices, I don't buy it. Developers know that prices can go down as well as up. They build to meet the sales rate. Building too fast and having 'stock' is not good practice. Stock units deteriorate if not occupied, they need monitoring which takes staff away from either selling or building (depending whose responsibility it is).

This is a crisis at all points of the system. Sometimes a sale is agreed and the mortgage lender doesn't send a valuer for 4/5 weeks. We need to speed the buying/ selling system up if we want developers to speed up the build rate. We also need to train more trades people and have them produce a better spec product.

I've got more to say, but the focaccia needs my attention.

[Rhomboid1]

Well I just watched it while making tomorrows bread. Not convinced. Didn't the Barker Report look into so called 'Land Banking' and conclude that it is not the main issue.

From obtaining full detailed PP to handing over the first property on a site takes a tremendous effort. The log jams can be as simple or complex. Successive governments have had an overriding preferment for Brown Field development. Several that have been built out near me have needed extensive decontamination and special measures during the construction phase in order to deliver the homes. A while back, I was offered work on a site which was then delayed due to Newts! I've worked on two sites where the ground works took twice as long because service tunnels were found under the land which had not been known about prior to construction starting. I've been on sites where work stopped due to problems/delays with utilities/ unlisted sub stations.

As for builders delaying the build to profit from increasing prices, I don't buy it. Developers know that prices can go down as well as up. They build to meet the sales rate. Building too fast and having 'stock' is not good practice. Stock units deteriorate if not occupied, they need monitoring which takes staff away from either selling or building (depending whose responsibility it is).

This is a crisis at all points of the system. Sometimes a sale is agreed and the mortgage lender doesn't send a valuer for 4/5 weeks. We need to speed the buying/ selling system up if we want developers to speed up the build rate. We also need to train more trades people and have them produce a better spec product.

I've got more to say, but the focaccia needs my attention.

Excellent post, it is an obvious requirement of any business to have a stock of long lead item raw materials, for Builders that is first and foremost land, not least because of the wide range of potential delays or obstructions to delivering said land within the finished product, the House.

Regards