Leeds developers call for clarity on housing targets

Leeds developers have called for more clarity over the City Council’s housing delivery strategy. The local authority has just approved two consultations over housing targets to run in parallel, leading to scepticism in the industry over the process. This week (14 January), Leeds Council approved a six-week consultation from 21 January to 4 March for the Site Allocations Plan, a document outlining where the city can deliver 70,000 homes. But at the same time, hearings are scheduled in February for the selective review of Leeds’ Core Strategy, which sets out the city’s housing need. Plans adopted in 2014 outlined the need for 66,000 homes between 2012 and 2028. However, the government’s revised housing targets last year slashed the need to about 55,000 homes, leaving developers in the dark on both housing targets and where those houses will be delivered. Spinning plates Frustration is palpable in the industry over the matter of housing. Jonathan Dunbavin, managing director of ID Planning, says: “Most local authorities have very old plans, and the process of reviewing plans is very time-consuming. There have been no new allocations in Yorkshire for an awfully long time in a lot of authorities. Kirklees – their last plan was 20 years ago; Leeds in 2001. It’s absolutely staggering.” As a result, he says, Leeds has not delivered its annual target of 3,660 new homes in any year of the core strategy so far. Adam Brannen, head of regeneration at Leeds City Council, says that between the core strategy and the site allocations plan, “we’re having these plates that are spinning at the same time and it’s about trying to figure out which one needs to stop first.” The problem, he explains, is that Leeds has the highest housebuilding target of any single local authority, and delivering on that ambition has caused “a degree of political discomfort” in terms of both scale and use of greenfield land. But there has been some progress. An inspectors’ report in October told Leeds City Council that instead of planning for a 15-year period, it should focus on the years up to 2023. Dunbavin called it a pragmatic solution to bring some certainty to the system, adding: “What will be needed is a proper, robust and very early review of that process.” Peter Garrett, managing director at Keyland Developments, however, warns that developers cannot complain if greater clarity leads to councils being more inflexible about development: “We’re arguing for certainty and then we’re saying there’s no flexibility. The two kind of go together. You get certainty by having inflexibility. It’s a fine line to draw.” Uncapping opportunities Despite the lack of firm housebuilding targets, the property industry in Leeds is broadly optimistic about other policy changes. For instance, in October, the government freed up councils to kickstart a housebuilding revival. Nigel Barclay, head of investments in the north for Homes England, calls it an “exciting opportunity”, pointing to a “real noticeable difference” between councils’ housing delivery in Scotland – where there has been no cap on borrowing – and in England in recent years. The challenge for the local authority is to recruit people with the skills to take full advantage of those opportunities. Nick Moody, founding member of Newby Homes, says: “Most councils aren’t set up for it. Removal of the cap will take seven to eight years to make any difference because we don’t have the skills for it.” But Leeds is potentially in a strong position to take advantage of those opportunities if it does find people with the skills. Brannen says: “Leeds is probably different to a lot of authorities in that we’ve got a very large housing revenue account. The scale that we have is a benefit but we have always been constrained by the borrowing cap.” The council, he says, has looked “anywhere” to start building new council homes. It had experience in delivering close to 400 new homes at Little London through a PFI scheme started in 2013 – though not without several delays along the way. PRS starts trickling in Meanwhile, Leeds is on the cusp of PRS rolling into the city, although the sector has not taken off as it has in Manchester. Dunbavin says: “It’s about getting the right rental values for PRS. In Manchester, you don’t struggle. In Leeds, you do at the moment, which is why Dandara has taken a while to come out of the ground.” Dandara Living’s 744-home Leodis Square PRS development will be available from April this year and will be an indication of how the sector will fare in the city. Grainger is also developing a 242-home PRS scheme at the former Yorkshire Post building, which is set to open next year. There is still a level of caution towards PRS in Leeds, says Dunbavin, suggesting housing delivery should still include a mix of tenures and that the sector cannot be the panacea for undersupply. But that does not diminish the importance of the Dandara scheme for the future of housing in Leeds. “A lot of people will be sitting there, watching what happens with that in terms of rental values,” Dunbavin comments. “That’s going to be the benchmark.” To send feedback, e-mail karl.tomusk@egi.co.uk or tweet @karltomusk or @estatesgazette