Big builders going to the wall

Last year, they finishing building two hundred houses on land at the bottom of our estate where it abuts a nature reserve. We, and many others, followed the planning stages closely and there were grandiose statements from the council that they would only give permission if the builders put plans in place for a certain percentage of affordable housing, public transport links and cycle paths. Fast forward to the present and there is no extension to the bus route, no cycle paths and certainly no affordable or social housing. Like the rest of the estate, they are all detached, the smallest are three bedrooms - most are four and five - and looking at the prices, barely affordable to singles or young couples just starting out. They are all sold - most off plan, so the builders are very far from going to the wall on this one. And the council? They appear to have just waved it through.

Go online and look at the planning permission and the Section 106 Agreement. That may give you some answers.

Local authorities are on the hook from central government to provide a certain amount of housing, as a part of their local plans. Often if a developer can prove an approved development isn’t viable, the LA can be minded to vary conditions and or Section 106 triggers, so originally approved affordable housing and other agreements are rescinded. If the LA don’t agree, they could get no, or less housing and not fulfil their local plan commitments.

rosie1959

Our small market town is in the process of building hundreds of new homes what once was fields where I used to walk my dog is now to be covered with rows of new builds.
No new infrastructure so I hope they don't need doctors or schools

So is ours , they have ripped out all of the hedges and trees, the site is now flooded.
This will be masked by a brand spanking new build which will dazzle first time buyers, along with the incentives to buy and it will be later that the problems will start.
Let’s hope the prospective purchasers will drive by and avoid the developments.

That’s right. A developer can also pay money to the local authority for the affordable housing to be built elsewhere. The s106 Agreement would show this and deal with timing of provision of the infrastructure said to be missing. I negotiated lots of these Agreements (and variations of them) during my career.

Sorry that was to JJ,

Flooding will show up in searches Oops.

My son is in the building trade so I am aware of certain issues. He finishes off the inside of newly built houses and because of having to cope with smaller spaces and having to cut and trim materials to fit more difficult spaces in a smaller house the labouring cost can be equal or more than for a larger house.
Most labourers are wrongfully classed as self employed under the Construction Industry Scheme and are not employed by the contractors. This results in no contract or benefits for over 1 million workers in the building trade,

What your son does as a builder does not make him aware of the issues discussed on this thread. You have said on another thread that he is a labourer - fine, but that doesn’t confer knowledge of what the developer is doing. Your beef is about whether your son is properly classed as self employed. Whether your son is self employed or is an employee of the contractor is not something that can be determined here.

A bungalow in my part of Australia is a small building they put in someone’s backyard. Often called a granny flat. Different from the meaning in other countries. More houses these days have more than one storey but the single storey houses are still in the majority. There are more and more luxury flats being built- entry level a million. I can’t stand the things, they ruin the beautiful countryside. Then there are ‘ units’ which are smaller one storey houses with small gardens, usually in groups.

My SIL lives in Brisbane where most dwellings are single story, many are raised on stilts because of regular flooding, but they would never be called “bungalows”. We’re visiting later this year she now lives above the flood level after several major flood episodes.

nanna8 not the case here in UK.Developers and big building firms having a great time building estates everywhere.

A new ‘development’ is in the process of being built near us.

Started off on the plans for about 50+ properties.

Covid came, and it all went quiet.

Then an established local building firm bought the site.

Now about 9 executive homes, 4/5 bedrooms, 2/3 bathrooms are under construction.

Some of the most expensive housing ever in this town.

Nothing sold for a while, but two of the dearest properties look to be under offer.

Must be to people from ‘away’, as the monthly mortgage figures are twice what the majority of folk in this town earn.

And we struggle for doctors, dentists, school places….

LAs are under pressure from cnetral government. They have always to always have land set aside to meet housing demand for the next 5 years. If they do not do that developers can appeal to central government and they will be given consent to build wherever they want to.

Our LA was slow off the mark a few years ago and it resulted in several areas of 'protected' land being built on. Recently a development planned for our village was rejected and even though the developer went all the way up the appeal system it was always rejected because the LA now had sufficient land set aside and it did not include this site.

Katie59

My SIL lives in Brisbane where most dwellings are single story, many are raised on stilts because of regular flooding, but they would never be called “bungalows”. We’re visiting later this year she now lives above the flood level after several major flood episodes.

The ones on stilts are called Queenslanders. They were originally built like that to allow air to circulate underneath to keep the house cooler in summer - and of course it keeps them up away from floods.

Our small town is being enlarged with new greenfield housing estates but without any creation of infrastructure. In my experience this is driven by landowners wanting large profits from development. Developers are quite ready to wriggle out of commitments to contribute under s106 to community needs. I know we need more housing but it is often being built at considerable distance away from jobs which means more pollution from car use. We need some kind of national plan to meet future needs but don't look to the Tories for any help. They seem to have no concept of making plans. Extra houses will mean more sewage dumping in rivers too.

Greyduster

Last year, they finishing building two hundred houses on land at the bottom of our estate where it abuts a nature reserve. We, and many others, followed the planning stages closely and there were grandiose statements from the council that they would only give permission if the builders put plans in place for a certain percentage of affordable housing, public transport links and cycle paths. Fast forward to the present and there is no extension to the bus route, no cycle paths and certainly no affordable or social housing. Like the rest of the estate, they are all detached, the smallest are three bedrooms - most are four and five - and looking at the prices, barely affordable to singles or young couples just starting out. They are all sold - most off plan, so the builders are very far from going to the wall on this one. And the council? They appear to have just waved it through.

They all sold because people found them affordable. The council may not have followed through on their own statements, hardly fault to the builder.

I live in an area that was developed in the late 60's and have observed, in the past few years, vast areas being developed for housing ; the problem is, they are simply thrown up and completely lack any semblance of quality.

The snags that buyers are listing is phenomenal , I wouldn't have a new-build for a gold clock!

nanna8

Yes- I don’t quite see the connection between the Ukraine and builders. They are blaming the cost of materials and the high wages for builders. Certainly plumbers, electricians etc get very big wages here but ,personally,I think they deserve it more than politicians, footballers etc.

There is a serious problem accessing wood.

getfea.com/international-markets/war-in-ukraine-sending-shockwaves-through-australian-construction-sector

They might be building , but round here property prices are unaffordable by young people. (Greater London)
Block after block of flats has gone up and a large section has been marketed and sold in the far east . This means that the flats are for investment so are quite often left empty. This in its turn hasa a detrimental effect on local amenities.

‘Foxygloves’ very good 😂

Just back from Australia and stunned to hear there there are people living in cars as they cannot find anywhere to rent. Lots of new builds with no gardens, very close together and just as boring as our housing developments throughout our country. It is a nightmare all over the world tbh.

Juliet27 Agree wholeheartedly. 1,800 houses being built locally on 2 sites. No improvement to road system. One project aside a biomass plant (fantastic views for residents). Green spaces gone, 1 primary school already struggling for spaces, GP practice struggling already ( all part time). Whole town (53K population) down to 1 dentist. All community services part time opening eg libraries already closing due to heating costs. Very little public transport but hey, all the new builds will have solar panels. I dread to think of all the social problems likely to arise in time due to the crowding and lack of facilities. The builders are very busy.

It’s up to planning authorities to ensure that all necessary infrastructure for a development is provided, either onsite or by way of a financial contribution to enable provision offsite where appropriate. Don’t blame the developers, blame the planners!

MerylStreep

nanna8

Yes- I don’t quite see the connection between the Ukraine and builders. They are blaming the cost of materials and the high wages for builders. Certainly plumbers, electricians etc get very big wages here but ,personally,I think they deserve it more than politicians, footballers etc.

There is a serious problem accessing wood.

getfea.com/international-markets/war-in-ukraine-sending-shockwaves-through-australian-construction-sector

Interesting!

Just back from Australia and stunned to hear there there are people living in cars as they cannot find anywhere to rent.
I have heard on very good authority that in some areas there may be 200 applicants for every rented flat which becomes available.