The Letwin Review into land banking has accused developers of slowing down build-out rates by limiting the number homes released for sale.
The review, announced at last year’s budget and led by West Dorset MP Oliver Letwin, was commissioned as an in-depth study into land banking and slow build rates. The government wants to increase annual housebuilding from 220,000 to 300,000.
The draft review, released today, puts the blame on absorption rates: where the number of homes being built and sold at any one time on sites is limited to prevent a glut driving down prices.
The review says developers should increase the choice of design, size and tenure of new homes on offer at sites – for instance, by building affordable or rental homes, which would not affect sale prices.
It concludes that “…to obtain more rapid building out of the largest sites, we need more variety within those sites”.
Letwin said: “It is clear that the main cause for delay is the absorption rate. We found that if housebuilders were to offer more variety of homes and in more distinct settings, then overall build-out rates could be substantially accelerated.”
Other recommendations include a call for 15,000 more bricklayers – almost a quarter of the size of the current workforce – to be trained over the next five years.
Letwin and the review the panel visited 15 large sites – of between 1,000 and 15,000 homes – in areas of high demand in London, the South East, the West Midlands and the North West.
The final report will be release in the autumn. Read the draft report here
See also: Letwin releases first update on land banking review
To send feedback, e-mail alex.peace@egi.co.uk or tweet @egalexpeace or @estatesgazette
