Calcutt report calls for national design review process for 'approval of standardised designs'

The Calcutt Review, an independent review of the house building industry structure and business model, including land holding, and the capability of the industry to deliver increased housing supply in a low/zero carbon environment, has been published. It was undertaken by John Callcutt, former Chairman of English Partnerships and prior to that Chief Executive of Crest Nicholson.

The purpose of the review was to examine how the supply of new homes is influenced by the nature and structure of the housebuilding industry, the business models and its supply chain, including land, material and skills.

The Review concluded that a national design review process should allow for widespread approval of standardised designs. It also called for a CABE design review panel specifically set up to assess the quality of new housing.

‘There should be a presumption that any development proposal which passed the assessment process would not be subject to any further objections or conditions in realtion to quality imposed by the planning authority,’ the review concludes.

It also says that councils should lock developers into partnerships to regenerate large chunks of England's deprived inner cities and town centres.

Announcing his findings and recommendations, John Callcutt said that the housebuilding industry can meet the Government’s targets of delivering 240,000 homes per year by 2016 and build them to zero carbon standards provided the industry and local authorities adopt new ways of working including sharing the financial benefits of investing in our towns and cities.

The Callcutt Review, an independent review commissioned by the Government, recommends that more previously developed land, including redundant inner city sites , is used to meet the demand for more housing and that sustained leadership is needed from Government to ensure that the new homes are of good quality and meet zero carbon standards.

John Callcutt said: ‘The industry is in shape to deliver the homes we need for future generations but we must create the market conditions to attract investment on the scale required.

‘Developers and local authorities should create new mature partnerships to gain mutual benefit from developing inner city and other urban sites.

‘The strong imperative for this, is, that unless we continue to regenerate our towns and cities, they will decline and in turn force more development to the edge of town and out into our countryside. Much more former commercial or industrial land should be used and whilst new settlements and greenfield sites will have to make a contribution , the proportion of greenfield development should be minimised.

‘We must also ensure that building homes and sustainable mixed use communities remains viable for the housebuilding industry. We need to take account of the costs of Government policies and regulation on energy efficiency, quality, affordability and tariffs for surrounding infrastructure, and the often negative value of some blighted urban sites.’

In its recommendations, the Review has set out five propositions to meet the challenge of aligning Government targets on building more housing to low carbon standards ,with the industry’s commercial objectives of providing returns to their shareholders.

The five propositions are:

• The public and private sectors are incentivised to work in new mature partnerships to bring forward low value sites for providing new, refurbished, affordable and energy efficient homes.
• Public commitment to infra-structure and services such as roads, schools, health services, public spaces and leisure facilities is used to build investor confidence in areas earmarked for regeneration.
• The regulatory framework is turned around so as to incentivise good quality and standards and to create opportunities for smaller firms.
• Government gives sustained leadership to its zero carbon objectives to underpin their delivery by the industry.
• Community management is given renewed priority as a key component of permanent regeneration and also to build confidence among financial investors in long term asset growth in regeneration areas.

In its analysis and findings from extensive consultation with the housebuilding industry, the Review has examined the need and demand for new and affordable housing, the industry’s land supply, quality and regulation of construction and design, skills capacity and capability, the industry’s current business models and the potential for new opportunities for new players in the sector.

The Review has made 37 recommendations.

A summary of the main recommendations are:

• Local authorities should consider choosing ‘preferred partner’ developers to ensure that the viability of lower value sites in their areas is optimised and attracts private finance investment.
• The Homes and Communities Agency should provide expertise and support to local authorities to identify development opportunities and help set up development partnerships.
• The Homes and Community Agency should commission work on how community management can act as a stimulus for regeneration of wider areas and communities. The Government should review the existing frameworks of property law and local government finance to ensure that they do not inhibit effective community management.
• An annual and independent customer satisfaction survey should be carried out and housebuilders and developers who fail to meet the new standards of customer satisfaction will not be eligible to receive public funding or bid for public land. There should be a two year period before introduction and particular arrangements made for new and small firms.
• A new design review process for housebuilding should be set up and there should be a presumption that any development which has passed the design review should not be subject to further planning requirements in relation to quality. The Government should review CABE’s role in this new process.
• The Government should back up its zero carbon target by ensuring that the rules are clear and a sound assessment methodology is in place as soon as possible. An independent body should be established to lead and co-ordinate delivery and to incorporate existing projects into a combined programme of exemplar developments.
• The extent and development status of developers’ land holdings should be more transparent and consistent in their financial reports and shareholder communications.
• PPS3 Guidance should be amended to stipulate that at least 10 per cent of the five year supply of deliverable housing land should consist of sites for no more than 10-15 homes. When large public sites are sold a proportion of the area should be broken into small sites for separate development.
• A new integrated national regime of housebuilding inspection should be created, combining building control, warranty requirements and planning conditions, to provide a level playing field and promote good quality in how homes are built.

Public-private partnerships

Callcutt called on English Partnerships – and the Homes and Communities Agency, once EP has been merged into the planned super-quango – to support the partnerships by training councils in planning, commerce and the law.

Yvette Cooper, DCLG, responded that she would ‘look further at what we can do to build these partnerships between the public and private sectors’.

She said Callcutt's proposal could mesh well with the 14 ongoing pilots for local housing companies, which were established by the housing green paper.

The government said it would formally respond to the review in the new year.

In the meantime, it has said that it supports Callcutt's call for an industry standard to discourage developers from hiding land assets.

National regeneration agency English Partnerships has welcomed the recommendations contained within the ‘Callcutt Review.

Speaking at the launch of the report, Trevor Beattie, Director of Corporate Strategy at English Partnerships, said: ‘When a major expansion of housebuilding is planned it is right time to stress the importance of quality and sustainability, the right time to reiterate housebuilders’ capacity to deliver, and the right time to emphasise the importance of leadership from Government and the public sector.

‘This report, then, comes at exactly the right time. It builds on much that English Partnerships is already doing and points the way to so much more.

‘I welcome the report’s clear recommendations and I look forward to working with Government on its response and on the subsequent delivery.’