Commons Sense

House of Commons · Westminster Hall

Responsibilities of Housing Developers — [Mark Pritchard in the Chair]

11 December 2024 · 19 other contributors · 13,084 words

Opened by Robbie Moore Con Keighley and Ilkley

Responding minister: Rushanara Ali

Housing

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Robbie Moore raised concerns about responsibilities of housing developers — [mark pritchard in the chair] in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.

Key points

  • MP Mark Pritchard chairs a debate on housing developer responsibilities in Silsden
  • MP expresses concern over inadequate infrastructure funding and poor construction quality
  • MP calls for government actions to hold developers accountable and address planning system issues

Key requests to Government

The MP asks the Government to ensure that developers are held accountable for their commitments regarding infrastructure and community services. He also requests plans to address existing concerns about the current planning system and to maintain trust between developers and the public.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

Robbie Moore Con Keighley and Ilkley

The MP is concerned about the impact of multiple housing developments in Silsden, which has grown by hundreds of houses over a decade. He highlights issues such as early consultation with residents, inadequate infrastructure funding through section 106 money, poor quality construction leading to snagging issues and negative impacts on neighbouring properties, lack of proper maintenance oversight, and ignoring local need assessments like the neighbourhood plan for Addingham village.

Other contributors (19)
  • Bayo Alaba Lab Southend East and Rochford

    Mr Alaba highlighted the issue of housing developers failing to appoint reliable management companies post-construction. He cited examples where residents faced inflexible payment terms for service fees, lacked access to decision-making processes, and were charged an annual fixed rent that hindered mortgage lending. Residents in Rochford were particularly affected by these issues.

  • Christopher Bloore Lab Redditch

    Notes that residents have been waiting decades for basic services like roads and grass areas to be adopted. Also points out the need for honest discussions about the number of houses required, referencing manifesto promises made by both parties.

  • Clive Jones Lib Dem Wokingham

    The hon. Member addressed leaseholders' issues in his constituency with a managing agent called Eagerstates, noting significant service charge hikes and poor property maintenance leading to mould and damp conditions for residents. He asked the Minister about fast-tracking the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 and preventing future abuses by such companies.

  • Darren Paffey Lab Southampton Itchen

    Mr Paffey is concerned about the quality and safety of homes built by developers. He mentions specific cases in his constituency, such as Oceana Boulevard and French Court, where residents face high service charges for remediation works. He emphasises that developers need to ensure they build good, safe homes from the start.

  • Gideon Amos Lib Dem Taunton and Wellington

    In Taunton and Wellington, many housing developments lack essential infrastructure despite approvals for over 6,000 new homes. There are concerns about incomplete road surfacing and estate management fees. The Liberal Democrats advocate for 'use it or lose it' permissions for developers. He asked if the Minister would give way.

  • James Naish Lab Rushcliffe

    Mr Naish acknowledged the work of Sarah Postlethwaite in auditing ecological planning conditions and found that only 26% were met. He called for local authorities to be adequately resourced to enforce these commitments from developers.

  • Jessica Brown-Fuller Lib Dem Chichester

    The current planning system prioritises developers over residents, leading to high-density developments in limited spaces. Local authorities struggle with unreasonable development applications and lack of accountability from developers who do not deliver promised infrastructure or social housing.

  • Jim Shannon DUP Strangford

    The UK needs urgent housing for various demographics. Developers in Strangford have provided many homes, but issues with planning delays and unfinished infrastructure are prevalent. Communication between developers, residents, and third-party organisations is lacking.

  • John Lamont Con Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk

    Residents in his area are concerned about the impact of new developments on local services such as doctors and schools. Developers often push back saying it is not their responsibility but that of the local authority or Scottish Government. Mr Lamont questions whether concerns raised by local residents about wildlife and the environment should be ignored in pursuit of housing developments.

  • Kevin McKenna Lab Sittingbourne and Sheppey

    The planning system is broken, leading to a lack of trust in developers among residents. There is frustration with the delivery of promised services like health centres. The speaker calls for more strategic planning at local levels and wants guarantees from developers that they will deliver on their promises.

  • Lee Dillon Lib Dem Newbury

    Mr Dillon highlights the importance of prioritising community infrastructure in new developments and expresses concern over delayed delivery of essential facilities such as schools and community centres. He also mentions issues with unadopted roads, which place additional financial burdens on residents.

  • Luke Charters Lab York Outer

    He highlighted the challenges in York, where housing developers have struggled to build good homes over the past 14 years due to overly cautious local authority planning approaches. He cited a specific case of delayed housing construction for six months because of a landscape issue over a hedge. Charters suggested that committee members who are homeowners should declare their interest and called for more resources in planning committees.

  • Melanie Onn Lab Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes

    Questions the effectiveness of section 106 funding, suggesting developers negotiate too strongly, potentially impacting social housing provision. Proposes regulation to ensure that section 106 funding supports its intended purpose. The hon. Member discussed the Clee Meadows estate, highlighting poor quality work by a developer after a long-standing derelict site was developed under a Labour council. She pointed out issues such as collapsing driveways, fly-tipping in the area, and concerns about the type of housing being built that does not meet local needs.

  • Nick Timothy Con West Suffolk

    Mr Timothy supported the debate's focus on new housing developments, noting population growth in West Suffolk and the need for new homes in appropriate locations. He discussed specific examples of development challenges such as traffic congestion and delayed infrastructure projects, advocating for better quality housing, community building, and developer accountability. Mr Timothy asks which regulations Mr Dillon would like to see removed to facilitate house building, particularly those related to environmental protection.

  • Olly Glover Lib Dem Didcot and Wantage

    Mr Glover addressed the challenges of estate adoption, focusing on excessive management fees, unclear accountability, lack of transparency, and inconsistent policies. He called for simplified approaches to planning, consistent adoption processes, and proper funding for local authorities.

  • Paul Holmes Con Hamble Valley

    Expressed concern about the excessive development led by local authorities, emphasising the importance of early consultation and adherence to standards. Raised worries over centralisation of power away from locally elected councillors, highlighting specific examples where targets were reduced in Labour areas while increased in others. Mentioned criticisms of section 106 agreements and unspent developer contributions totalling £8 billion that could fund 11,000 affordable homes, repair potholes, and create new school places.

  • Richard Foord Lib Dem Honiton and Sidmouth

    Mr Foord highlighted issues of premature site handovers from housing developers to management companies, citing examples in Pebble Beach and Acland Park. He noted unfinished amenities, maintenance issues, and unclear accountability between developers and property management firms.

  • Saqib Bhatti Con Meriden and Solihull East

    Highlights the need for developers to consider infrastructure such as GP surgeries and road networks when planning new developments, referencing a specific case in his constituency.

  • Tessa Munt Lib Dem Wells

    The MP agrees with the lead MP's point on the importance of masterplanning and considering wider impacts, such as traffic congestion and local amenities.

Government Response

Rushanara Ali

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard. I congratulate the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley on securing this debate and on his introductory speech. He made important points about consultation, responsibilities of housing developers and the need for quality service provision, community infrastructure and a range of other issues. Other Members raised the important issues of housing supply and the housing crisis. We can all agree about the need to address the housing shortage in our country; there were only 210,000 first-time buyers last year, affecting an intergenerational set of tensions with today's under-30s less than half as likely to be homeowners as those of the same age in the 1990s. The Government have inherited a set of challenges that we must address and there are 123,000 households including 150,000 children, in temporary accommodation which affects communities and constituencies up and down the country. We take seriously points made on planning and local consultation; suggested changes to the national policy and planning framework are first steps to correcting some issues that have arisen. The Government have hit the ground running on a number of agendas including leasehold reform, decent homes, new towns taskforce, investment summit with £60 billion and £0.5 billion on housing specifically, and announcing £5 billion towards a housing supply package for England over the next five years including £0.5 billion for social and affordable housing schemes. We need to ensure that developers fulfill their responsibility; safety is also important as highlighted by the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley with the remediation action plan following the recently published Grenfell phase 2 report setting out some of the issues relating to quality and safety. We are committed to the devolution agenda, giving more power to local communities including devolved budgets, empowering local leaders and mayors to work strategically with national Government to deliver on the housing agenda. We are mindful that we need to address both increasing supply and not compromising on quality of housing; section 106 delivers nearly half of all affordable homes per year. We have invested significant resources to tackle the housing crisis, ensuring the national planning policy framework is fit for purpose, communities engaged and involved with it.

▸ Assessment & feedback
Summary accuracy