Now there’s talk of constricting potential sites too.
Sir Simon Jenkins, chairman of the National Trust, caused outrage last week when he called for all construction to be focused in cities. He suggested listing the countryside into 4 ‘grades’ with one of them presuming against development, in an attempt to halt building in the countryside.
The side-effects of never developing rural areas are worrying. New home starts are already at their lowest level since 2009, after falling by 11% last month. And they’re prime development sites that Sir Simon proposes to cut. The government has highlighted rural areas including the M5 corridor as the best places for new builds. If these sites are vetoed new home starts will fall even further.
If developers can’t invest in the countryside, we’re going to create a bi-polar Britain. As property availability falls, young buyers will be priced out of the market. The countryside will become the preserve of the wealthy.
Mainstream finance is providing enough of a bottleneck without new planning restrictions.
While the lack of high street lending has created the problem with financing, peer-to-peer lenders are providing a solution. More flexible lenders like West One Loans judge applications on a case-by-case basis. A personal touch gets the best deals for borrower and lender – just like the best brokers always have. And that’s why our West One Broker Sentiment Survey keeps tracking the popularity of alternative finance with those who really know the market.
What Sir Simon failed to recognise is that development opportunities can’t be categorised on the basis of town or countryside. The individuality of each case should be embraced. Construction, like finance, should be addressed on a personal level.
