Homes must be well designed

Housebuilding needs to be more than a numbers game, according to the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

The comments come following the new Labour government’s autumn budget.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has committed £5 billion to delivering a housing plan that includes increasing the Affordable Homes Programme to £3.1 billion.

This will include providing £3 billion to increase the supply of homes and support small housebuilders and £128 million to support new housing projects.

Focuses will include tackling the river pollution currently blocking the construction of up to 28,000 new homes and investment in 3,000 energy-efficient properties across the country.

Further investment details will be announced at next year’s spending review and will include support for councils and housing associations to increase their capacity to build affordable housing.

In addition, she pledged £1 billion to accelerate the removal of dangerous cladding on homes, following the Grenfell Tower report.

The rates for stamp duty on residential properties remain unchanged at 18 per cent and 24 per cent.

Changes to stamp duty – now increased from three per cent to five per cent – are focused on the higher rates for additional dwellings or second homes.

The Chancellor has extended the inheritance tax threshold freeze for a further two years, to 2030.

The first £325,000 of any estate can be inherited tax-free, rising to £500,000 if the estate includes a residence passed to direct descendants and £1 million when a tax-free allowance is passed to a surviving spouse or civil partner.

RIBA president Muyiwa Oki said: “Given the huge demand for housing, the £500 million top-up to the Affordable Homes Programme is desperately needed.

“But this pocket-sized sum isn’t going to deliver a home for everybody who needs one, including the hundreds of thousands of people waiting for social housing.

“Alongside calling for next year’s spending review to boost the social housing pot, we urge the government to consider its overall approach to funding social homes.

“This includes exploring different models that reduce the net cost of delivery, such as that outlined in our report, Foundations for the Future.

“Fundamentally, housebuilding needs to be more than a numbers game.

“Places must be well designed, well connected, inclusive and accessible, which means ensuring sufficient infrastructure is developed alongside new homes.

“That means building on today’s infrastructure announcements – because, ultimately, we must create places where people want to live.”