[Ed. That’s a many-headed serpent-like water beast fact fans]
As if the issues of mortgage funding, changing construction methods, the MMR or helping first-time buyers weren’t enough (and there are plenty more), the government is also waging war on our over-centralised planning system.
However, unlike the mythical Greek tale, there is no Hercules in sight to defeat the monster. Instead, our unlikely heroes are Eric Pickles and Grant Shapps.
The changes in housing and planning regulations aim to unblock a complex, costly planning system.
The government’s change of tone is hard to miss. It wants to engender an ethos of co-operation rather than confrontation in the planning system, while spurring on the economy by providing support for first time buyers, encouraging private investment in housing, and accelerating the release of public sector land.
By tackling red tape in the planning system and creating economic opportunities, it wants to kill two birds with one legislative stone.
Of course, there are detractors and concerns are rife about the protection of green belt land. The National Trust and the Daily Telegraph are among the high profile voices calling for caution and predicting the end of the countryside as we know it.
Ultimately, these concerns are ill-founded, because these measures deal with one part of the value chain.
No initiative, such as withdrawing unused planning permission, is going to make any difference if mezzanine finance is still unaffordable or if smaller building firms are sent to the wall because they undertake work they cannot afford.
The housing market suffers from low consumer confidence, funding restrictions and an unwillingness to lend on anything new or to anyone who is defined in underwriting terms as “not straight forward”.
Add into the mix new build using new methods of construction and very quickly it is clear that it will take a lot more than planning changes to galvinize this market.
The Hydra was defeated by Hercules as one of his 12 labours. By comparison, the UK housing market is a much tougher beast.
Alison Beech is business relationship director at Spicerhaart
