Chris Smith, Head of New Build at Polypipe Building Products on planning reforms and the plumbing sector’s role in achieving housing targets
Labour’s pledge to ‘Get Britain Building Again’ comes with the promise of 1.5 million new homes over the next five years and plans to accelerate national infrastructure.
However, the latest housing supply statistics from the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG) show a 6% year-on-year decline in net additional dwellings. Therefore, the new planning reforms have been designed to make these ambitious targets a reality and speed up building.
But while making efforts to meet the quantity of new homes required there must also be adequate consideration for the quality of these new homes. Each stakeholder in the built environment – including the plumbing sector – has a part to play in reaching the targets and providing enough quality housing to the UK.
The Labour Party has also updated the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and created the Planning and Infrastructure Bill to tackle some of the main barriers to housebuilding.
This means that applications complying with local development plans could bypass planning committees entirely. The plans outline £100m of new funding for local planning officers and mandatory training for planning committee members.
As a ‘New Homes Accelerator Group’ will be assembled to release thousands of partially-built homes, local authorities will be required to commit – but they will also be under greater pressure to deliver against their own ambitious targets.
The government’s proposed revised land use policies will see a ‘brownfield first’ approach to development and fast-track planning application approvals on these sites. It has also reclassified over 11,000 sites of greenbelt land as ‘grey belt’. This is set to release land for around 100,000 to 200,000 new homes – 50% of which must be affordable.
In widening the types of land we can build upon the sector is also going to encounter varying levels of difficulty in establishing flood defence and resilience, and will have to lean in the expertise of drainage experts.
Drainage strategies
From Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) that reduce flood risk to engineered drainage solutions for complex new build housing sites, each new housing estate requires a bespoke water management solution to ensure its long-term sustainability.
As planning reforms accelerate, without the right drainage strategy, increased urban development risks exacerbating surface water flooding and overloading existing drainage networks.
This is where the plumbing and drainage sector becomes essential. It must deliver systems that meet today’s building standards, but also futureproof new developments against environmental challenges. Recent trends suggest environmental extremes are becoming more commonplace. Higher levels of rainfall in shorter periods of time and larger contrasts in temperature are putting existing and aging infrastructure under pressure.
Early engagement with plumbing and drainage manufacturers during the house building planning phase can help identify potential issues and tailor solutions to the specific needs of each site, particularly in areas with higher flood risk or limited existing infrastructure. The adoption of modern, efficient technologies can contribute to both environmental goals and have a knock-on benefit of cost savings for homeowners.
As the construction industry pushes on with the government’s housing targets, it’s vital that quality, resilience, and sustainability remain front and centre, with each stakeholder ensuring that homes are not just built quickly, but built to last.
Climate considerations
We also cannot afford to compromise on our progress to Net Zero in the race to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years. Regulations such as changes to Part L and the Future Homes Standard are encouraging the creation energy efficient homes.
Yet, we need to broaden our focus across the supply chain and extend our focus to embodied carbon. Positively, we’re seeing more companies designing to deconstruct, rather than demolish, at end of life, and many are also opting for materials with greater recycled content.
We are committed to designing for sustainability, using recycled content in our plastic drainage and plumbing systems, and want to encourage the rest of the sector to follow suit.
Moving forward together
When implementing reforms, the government cannot simply hand the reins back to local authorities, housebuilders and developers. There must be continued support as the industry adapts to new regulations, and changes to the NPPF.
Funding for local authorities and planning committees is welcome, but further resource is needed across the industry. This will be vital to ensure we can support better quality, more sustainable, affordable housing.
Polypipe Building Products works alongside housebuilders, developers, architects, and specifiers to navigate challenges, drive innovation, and deliver high-quality, compliant, and sustainable projects.
For further information on Polypipe Building Products visit Polypipe | Piping, Underfloor Heating & Energy-Efficient Ventilation.
