APPG for SME builders report highlights best builders

The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for SME House Builders has released its report, ‘Ways to improve the planning system in the UK’, which identifies many of the barriers small and medium sized housebuilders (SMEs) face when entering, engaging with and navigating the planning system.

Richard Beresford, chief executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said: “This reports, which the NFB’s, House Builders Association HBA inputted into, doesn’t just look at speeding up planning but why consistent, certain planning is good for builders, communities, councils and planners.

It highlights the reality that SME builders are an undervalued part of the housing supply chain and must be properly enabled to solve the housing crisis.”

The report, which is sponsored by Aldermore Bank, asks sixteen questions on a range of topics, containing:
• Section 106 and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) payments
• Planning reform
• Modern Methods of Construction (MMC)
• Sustainability
• Disadvantages of SMEs
• Recommendations

Concluding with seventeen recommendations, including the HBA’s long proposed small sites register, the report takes a balanced approach to understanding the barriers SME builders face and why the entire housing supply chain, from planner and policy maker, to builder and resident, will benefit if we can solve the major barriers that face in the planning system.

Rico Wojtulewicz, head of housing and planning for the HBA, said: “In the last five years, the Government has listened to SMEs but national policy reform, such as the housing white paper has not always delivered better outcomes at the local level. This APPG report highlights this and does a fantastic job in producing recommendations which can ensure more of our best builders and local employers can win work and solve our housing crisis.

I would like to pay special thanks to APPG chair, Andrew Lewer, MP for Northampton South and secretariat, Andrew Cumpsty, who put together this report and took the time to listen and take seriously the challenges our industry and HBA members experience on a daily basis.”

Christopher Walkey

Founder of Estate Agent Networking. Internationally invited speaker on how to build online target audiences using Social Media. Writes about UK property prices, housing, politics and affordable homes.

You May Also Enjoy

Estate Agent Talk

Why Cases Stall in Summer and What Agents Can Do About It

By Cara Stanbridge, Head of Relationship Management at Nova Conveyancing Every year, we hear talk of the summer slowdown. But from what I see working closely with agents, conveyancers and clients, the issue isn’t usually a lack of activity. More often, it’s keeping transactions moving when everyone involved is juggling higher workloads, holidays and competing…
Read More
small house bird box
Breaking News

Britain’s property hotspots revealed

The Scottish city where houses sell fastest – and the town where it takes SIX TIMES as long to sell your home Homes in Glasgow sell three times faster than the UK average – making the Scottish city the fastest selling in Britain Wakefield is the slowest-selling city in Britain, with homes spending twice as…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 13/8/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   The average age of tenants living in shared houses in the UK is now 35   Thought leadership by Adam Pigott CEO of tlyfe (Openbrix)   “The headline figure that tenants are now in their mid 30’s and still have to share facilities, not even have the…
Read More
Breaking News

Stamp Duty receipts remain above pre-pandemic norms

The latest research from Yopa has revealed that, despite continued speculation surrounding a slowdown in the housing market, Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) receipts remain comfortably above pre-pandemic levels, demonstrating the resilience of buyer activity in recent years. Yopa analysed monthly Stamp Duty Land Tax receipts published by HM Revenue & Customs between January 2018 and…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

The summer improvements that could add value to your house

The latest research from Yopa has revealed which summer-inspired home improvements could add the most value to your property once the cost of carrying out the work itself has been taken into account, with a summer house potentially boosting the value of the average UK home by almost £8,000. Yopa analysed a range of popular…
Read More
AI in estate agency letting agency property
Estate Agent Talk

Turning anxiety into advantage: how SMEs can make AI work for them

By Johann Aguirre, founder of Cachi AI   According to the Office for National Statistics, AI adoption among UK businesses has risen from approximately 12% to around 35% since late 2023. However, adoption levels differ considerably depending on the size of a business and the sector in which it operates. Larger, established organisations may be…
Read More