VIDEO OF THE WEEK: Solving the housing crisis – THE BIG IDEA

Arcadis video looks at how a new ‘National Housing Service’ could provide a public-private solution to deliver an additional 1.5 million new homes in the UK

Read Arcadis report: Solving the housing crisis: THE BIG IDEA

Housing crisis

The UK is simply not producing enough new housing, either in number or tenure type, to meet the demands of a growing and ageing population

The availability and affordability of housing is a vital foundation of the country’s dynamic and sustainable economy and has a very real impact on the UK’s regional and international competitiveness

There have been varying estimates of housing need in recent years, with decades of housing completions in the UK not having kept pace

Housing supply and demand

There have been varying estimates of housing need in recent years, with decades of housing completions in the UK not having kept pace

In reviewing housing trends and cyclical supply outputs of the last 100 years, no intervention has created sustained supply year in, year out nor a sustainable impact.

The housing delivered versus the housing need has equally confirmed the crisis in housing choice. We need the housing market to become more sustainable and to provide long-term economic advantages to the UK’s prosperity, whilst achieving a shift in tenure mix and housing choice aligned more accurately to housing need and demand.

We need to create a housing market with greater diversity in provider type, giving no one type the power to control supply and influence house price inflation

House building is at an historic low and this has been a long-term declining trend. To reach 240,000 in England alone, house building numbers need to rise by circa 100%

With house price inflation far outstripping that of wages, the UK tenure of choice needs both sustainable support at the point of purchase and a stable economic environment to remain affordable throughout ownership

New Arcadis report

Solving the housing crisis: THE BIG IDEA

This new report from Arcadis, a leading Design & Consultancy firm for natural and built assets, proposes a new independent delivery agency to boost both public and private housing

• public-private solution to deliver an additional 1.5 million new homes in the UK
• comprehensive and financially-modelled plan to address the UK’s housing crisis
• 14-step plan of action, culminating in the proposed creation of a politically neutral ‘National Housing Service’, an agency tasked with addressing the triple threat of falling tenure diversity, constrained supply and a growing skills gap in both the development and construction industries

National Housing Service

The new ‘National Housing Service’ could provide a response, at scale, to address the housing crisis and increase housing supply in England over a sustained period of time.

• independent and politically neutral agency
• sustainable delivery of nearly 1.5 million additional new homes of all tenures
• generating up to 97,500 new jobs and 80,000 trainee placements,
• create GDP growth of £1.307 trillion
• investment returns for the taxpayer worth up to £38 billion over the next 30 years

Simon Light, UK Client Development Director at Arcadis: “It is clear that the current housing model isn’t working. From the widely reported struggle of first-time buyers trying to get on the ladder, to a serious lack of housing choice and availability, the housing crisis has never been more pressing. With the UK population projected to increase by an additional 10 million in the next 25 years, the private sector alone will never be able to meet the required number of new homes.

“We have seen the focus currently being given to the country’s infrastructure, but now is the time to apply an even bigger ambition to address the housing crisis. The only way to meet demand is through a strong public-private, direct delivery model. The influence of the wider economy and market cycles as a barrier to long term planning is why we can’t have a strategy solely reliant on private sector-delivered homes-for-sale. This needs to be augmented by a public sector-led or enabled supply, spread across affordable and social rent, shared ownership, private rent, private- for-sale and later living products. A more cohesive, national, apolitical impetus needs to be given to solving the housing crisis in a way that will fulfil social need and boost economic growth beyond a single parliamentary lifecycle.

“A ‘National Housing Service’ would alleviate pressures on housing supply and affordability, produce employment and skills opportunities and ultimately create higher levels of economic productivity and greater international competitiveness. It would also be wholly supportive of the continued growth of private sector output through the free market mechanism. We are absolutely passionate about improving quality of life for people across the country and are confident that our proposal will make a tangible impact to the UK.”

Link to more details on the Arcadis website