The problem.

Over the last few years people have believed simply through the principle of  ‘fact by repetition’ that their houses are worth substantially more than they really are – and many have spent the ‘equity’ resulting in real debt. This is a major,  if not the single most significant contribution to the failure of the whole financial system, for lenders of every persuasion, mainstream and dubious – remained convinced that even if the mortgagee defaulted, the value of the property would rise relentlessly. Well it hasn’t happened and we are now all paying  the consequences. Present draconian planning legislation is making rural housing unaffordable at all levels, and fierce competition for scarce building plots, and developer led profit-making schemes have disenfranchised many people who would otherwise readily and happily contribute to the nation’s home building. It affects the well-being of the rural communities when the cost a rural building site not infrequently exceeds the value of  existing houses, so only the rich can build, and so it goes on. In other words,  we can’t even sell and build because of the simple law of supply and demand for plots. Anyone who doubts that the planning system has forced up the cost of building, or is simply out of touch with the current price of plots may care to Google ” building plots for sale in the UK”, which will more than adequately illustrate the point.  If you are of a financially nervous disposition be sure to set any search to ‘lower prices first’ that way you will start with plots around the £200,000 price bracket. This is where the true unreality in the world of house building really kicks in. Not to put too fine a point on it, the self build and private house building sector is stuffed, and rural house building doubly so. So where’s the next round of finance for house building going to come from? Well despite the serious downturn  it’s already available, let me explain

The answer.

We need to radically review rural planning, not tinker with it but radically change priorities. The prospect of being able to build a new house for the cost of materials and labour, on  considerably cheaper sites would mean that for the first time people would be in a position to accept less for their existing houses. This is a fundamental point, for the pressures of a falling property market forces people to stay put, they are constrained by the idea that they could never afford their next home, and certainly removes the prospect of moving up the ladder,  all to the wider detriment of the economy. The benefit of allowing more self build to those trying to get a foothold on the property ladder is obvious. The move would anticipate a whole new reality in the housing market and importantly, people are not going to build where they have no roots or employment. It would also signal the end of the more dubious financial players that have for too long distorted the housing market.

The method.

If we don’t keep control of rural house building it would run wild ? It need not,  there is a simple and easy solution that would make far more effective use of planning legislation than the existing system. Firstly houses that are presently occupied  by prospective  self builders must be sold on the open market, all title relinquished, not let or retained as second homes. Hence new homes would be built only for owner occupiers on a ‘one for one’ basis, not as  ‘buy to let’ or ‘rural retreats’ for wealthy city dwellers. Secondly if the newly built property were to be sold be within a set period, then it would trigger a substantial sliding development tax which would prohibit exploitation.

Finally.

We hear the word ‘aspiration’ rather frequently, Cameron uses it often  in the context of his vision of the  ‘big society’, what greater aspiration can one have than to build a house? I’m nearing the end of my working life, but as each year passes a belief in the right  that people who so desire should be allowed to reap the rewards of a life’s work, and build themselves their home in the country if they so desire. And you know what? all those fine properties, those quintessential English houses, those cottages and delightful listed buildings so dearly loved by our native folk and visitors alike, it would do well to remember they were all built before the idea of  ‘planning permission’ entred the arena. So when we really think about it it’s an interesting and curious concept, this idea of planning authorities granting ‘permissions’. It implies  earlier generations got it entirely wrong and that we would also get it wrong, when history shows exactly the opposite is true. Nor in the long run will the present rural planning policies even protect what we have.  Far from preserving the values and life of the communities that made rural Britain such a delight we are destroying it by undermining its economic structure; all  for the sake of a of what is no more than a contemporary idea of what its visual appearance should be, which is in fact the simplest of all the planning rules to apply. Ask any farmer if the fields and landscape that we strive to protect was designed as some grand rural vista for the benefit of visitors or to satisfy the whims of the planning authority, you wouldn’t wait too long for a very concise answer.  Ask country people if their children will ever be able to  afford to live in the same village, ask country people who are retiring if they would prefer to sell their large house and build something smaller in the village where they always lived, or whether they would prefer to move into some urban ‘retirement complex’. Ask anyone who lives in a rural area if the services and  public transport are satisfactory, you can guess the answers to these questions.

All the major mistakes in social engineering have been engendered not by people building their own homes, but by planners and corporate architects who claimed to know at the time what was best for us.  Despite ample evidence to contrary they still insist that they know better than earlier generations who built simply to fulfil their ambitions and aspirations.  But ‘planning is a hugely complex issue’ it’s argued, clearly beyond the comprehension of ordinary people, yes I agree it is – so lets fix it.

Points:

* The economic crisis owes no small part to the housing market.

* Houses are in short supply, yet draconian planning laws, bureaucracy, and red tape force up the price of rural building plots so that they are frequently more expensive than the build cost.

* Planning did not create the traditional rural landscape that we value, the idea that  planning laws are persevering it needs radically rethinking, there is much more to the preservation of the countryside than maintaining  its visual appearance.

* The visual appearance of  a proposed house is easy to control, there  is no need to sacrifice the aspirations  and economy of rural communities in achieving this goal.

* The opportunity to build a home should be a basic human right, planning should work on the premise of a citizens right to build a home . The onus should be on the authorities to demonstrate a clear unambiguous and material reason why a proposed house should not be built, rather than the present presumption that new rural homes are an imposition. Given the rising cost of food and transport applications to create smallholdings and  create new small farms from larger units should be a national priority.

* The benefits to the rural economy and the economy as a whole would be substantial. Well being of rural communities, affordable houses for local people, fewer people leaving the countryside, fewer ‘dormitory’, and second homes in villages. Work for local construction companies and builders. A dramatic increase in the  number of new small holdings and small family farms with thea benefit of local produce and local market, less dependency on imported foodstuff, less carbon from hauling produce as more produce is grown locally.

News

The number of new homes being built in England falls to an 88-year low.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/Housing-Crisis-New-Building-Stalls-Mortgage-Difficulties-And-Government-Initiatives/Article/201102315936351