Changes to Planning Rules Could Make Life Easier for Small Housebuilders

The government has set out new plans aimed at helping small and medium-sized housebuilders get projects moving faster and with fewer hurdles. For housebuilders that have found themselves stuck in a slow, expensive planning process for a small site, these changes might be of interest.

What’s Changing?

Right now, building a site of 10 homes can involve the same level of planning red tape as a site with 100. That’s long been a frustration for smaller developers, and it’s one of the things this package of reforms is trying to fix.

The proposals include plans for small developments (up to nine homes) to benefit from faster decisions made by planning officers, rather than going through a full planning committee. Some of the biodiversity requirements will also be simplified, which should reduce costs and paperwork.

For slightly bigger sites (10 to 49 homes), there’s a new middle category being proposed. These ‘medium’ sites may be exempt from things like the Building Safety Levy and will face more straightforward rules around biodiversity and other requirements.

What Else Is on Offer?

The government has also announced further support it intends to provide to make it easier for smaller firms to access land and finance. Plans include:

• More land being released specifically for small and medium builders through Homes England.

• A new National Housing Delivery Fund to support long-term finance options.

• £100 million in SME Accelerator Loans from the Home Building Fund, aimed at helping small firms grow and invest.

• A pilot project in Bristol, Sheffield and Lewisham to unlock small, awkward bits of land that often get overlooked, with a focus on delivering affordable homes.

There’s also extra funding for councils to speed up environmental assessments and to support innovation in small site delivery, and a consultation on reforming planning committees has also been announced.

What Does This Mean for You?

If you’re running a small building firm or planning a development on a modest site, you may be able to look forward to:

• Applications going through more quickly, especially for smaller projects.
• Some costs and regulatory barriers easing, particularly around biodiversity and safety levies.
• More realistic opportunities to bring smaller or trickier plots into use, including ones that previously didn’t stack up financially.

Of course, a lot still depends on how these changes are rolled out locally and whether the promised funding and support are easy to access in practice.

What You Might Want to Do Next

It could be a good time to review any sites you’ve written off in the past – some may become more viable if planning becomes less of a slog.

Take a look at where you currently stand financially, particularly in terms of your access to finance for development projects. You might want to:

• Review your existing borrowing or credit arrangements.
• Assess whether you’ll need additional finance to get a project moving.
• Look at your eligibility and readiness to apply for schemes like the SME Accelerator Loans.

The idea is to make sure you’re in a good position to move quickly as and when funding opportunities open up – for example, by having updated accounts, a clear business plan, or some potentially viable sites in mind. The new funding routes may move fast or be competitive, so being prepared could make a difference.

If you’d like a second opinion on how these changes might affect your business or some help reviewing your financial position, feel free to get in touch and we’d be happy to have a chat.

See: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-backs-sme-builders-to-get-britain-building