By Trevor Abrahmsohn, managing director of Glentree Worldwide

Yawn and stretch, the federal government have appointed a brand new housing Czar rather than the completely discredited Angie Rayner, former deputy prime minister, who little doubt is ‘licking her wounds’ for having been caught together with her ‘fingers within the until’.

Witnessing such gluttonous behaviour

Clearly, she had learnt nothing from the free presents’ controversy in September 2024, when she accepted all method of goodies from Lord Alli. Then, a police probe ensued shortly after since she allegedly misrepresented her major residence from the entry within the Electoral Register to be able to keep away from Capital Positive factors Tax. Now her most up-to-date debacle, a brazen try and keep away from £40,000 in stamp responsibility on a flat in Hove, price £800,000, that she bought in Could of this yr. Since this was her third abode, I’m undecided if folks will shed many tears for her, having witnessed such gluttonous behaviour.

If we will’t depend on the housing minister to do the fitting factor on SDLT, what requirements does this authorities characterize to the populace?

Milky Bar Child is hard and powerful

The bottom I’m afraid is suffering from spent housing ministers who’ve failed to fulfill their targets over the past 10 years. Mr. Steve Reed, OBE, who could fleetingly consider himself because the ‘Milky Bar Child, who is hard and powerful’ (Am I displaying my age?) would be the seventeenth housing minister to enter bat on this matter.

I’ll ask you for forgiveness for pursuing the metaphor additional, and much be it for me to prejudge his cricketing abilities, however let’s put it this manner, I’m positive we’re not taking a look at a David Gower or Geoff Boycott. You don’t have to be a clairvoyant to work this out however my recommendation to him is, don’t hand over your day job and let the funeral director of profession prospects measure your torso for its sure burial.

Construct Child Construct

He has actually come out preventing with a catchy soundbite, ‘Construct Child Construct’ (I’m positive Mr. Trump doesn’t really feel threatened by this model of slogan plagiarism) which sounds nice on first listening to, however oh expensive, if solely life was so easy!

I shall do such issues – What they’re, but I do know not

I hear overtures from Shakespear’s King Lear: ‘I shall do such issues – What they’re, but I do know not; however they shall be the terrors of the earth’ (King Lear, Act two, scene 4).

I at all times put on a wry smile when the brand new appointment assures us how far more that they’re going to do than the earlier incumbent, significantly as Angela Rayner was so happy with her ‘achievements’.

Sound bites are all positive and dandy however as everyone knows, they make higher press headlines than they do to alter something on the bottom.

The good steeple chase

Listed here are a pattern of the apparent hurdles within the nice steeple chase named ‘Attempting to construct sufficient housing to fulfill the wants of the UK’.

Planning system bottlenecks

Delays in planning approvals can take months or years to materialise, significantly because the councillors are paranoid about Nimbyism (much more so when the native Could elections strategy) and completely worthy schemes change into snarled up with pointless forms and regulation.

As an illustration, planning consents are down 7% this yr versus final yr, which is able to exacerbate the issue of constructing new houses to fulfill the governments targets.

Funding constraints

i: Governments typically pledge bold public spending targets with out absolutely allocating the mandatory funding.

ii: A lot of the constructing is predicted to be finished by non-public builders who’re revenue pushed and can solely ship houses quick sufficient if the financial local weather fits them and constructing and finance prices don’t strangle completely good websites.

Development business challenges

i: There’s a perceptible lack of expert employees, significantly within the development trades though as there’s now much less constructing happening, it has change into a diminished concern.

ii: Inflation of fabric prices and provide chain disruptions make it properly nigh not possible to work on fix-price tasks and due to this fact, it is just a cost-plus association that may swimsuit a UK huge developer at this time. This brings a monetary unpredictability into the body, which undermines confidence within the sector and spooks lenders.

iii: There’s a restricted quantity of band width to scale up manufacturing, even when the federal government needed to open the ‘sleuth gates’ of stream.

Land availability

i: Regardless that solely 7% of the UK is constructed upon, there’s nonetheless a land scarcity, and it’s costly.

ii: Builders typically sit on their websites within the hope that property costs will rise earlier than constructing out the schemes. Generally they sell-on the land since it’s simpler to make an prompt revenue this manner, slightly than take the chance of constructing the venture out.

Coverage contradictions

Environmental rules and Inexperienced Belt protections can restrict improvement and the brand new Housing Minister must take an axe to this if he desires to enhance the poor outcomes up to now.

Thatcher’day: for a a lot smaller inhabitants, we have been constructing 300,000 each year

Earlier than the final Election, The Labour Occasion trotted out the standard ‘Jackson Pollocks’ that, come ‘hell or excessive water’ they have been going to construct 1.5million houses within the first electoral time period. Regardless of all these gaseous protestations, up to now there’ll nonetheless be a shortfall of 33% on this goal to this point this yr and should you venture this ahead to 2029, there’ll nonetheless be 500,000 houses not constructed beneath this pledge. That is all of the extra discredit worthy once you suppose again to Thatcher’s day, when for a a lot smaller UK inhabitants, there was nonetheless a complete of 300,000 new houses constructed per yr.

Many toes must be trampled upon

I return to my preliminary premise which is ‘housing doesn’t simply occur just like the stream of a faucet’, it must be relentlessly pursued with brutal willpower encompassing basic grass root reform, to fulfill these targets. Let’s face it, ‘many toes must be trampled upon’ and howls of ‘ecological nimbyism’ will have to be ignored if this isn’t simply to be fanciful aspiration.

Swimming via sago pudding with a rucksack in your again

We want you luck Mr. Reed, however as your predecessor discovered to her sure price, making ahead progress via the corridors of forms on the housing difficulty, is akin to ‘swimming via sago pudding with a rucksack in your again’.

Are you as much as this job Mr. Reed?

I worry echoes of the well-known resignation speech within the Commons, delivered by Sir Geoffrey Howe, in November 1990, “It’s slightly like sending your opening batsman to the crease just for them to search out that earlier than the primary ball is bowled, their bats have been damaged by the staff Captain.”

I relaxation my case.