What’s holding us back?
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The NHBC’s latest research: ‘Small house builders and developers: current challenges to growth’ provides an update to the NHBC Foundation’s 2014 report ‘Improving the prospects for small house builders and developers’. The report analyses the business environment facing small firms, using the experiences of almost 500 companies who typically construct less than 10 homes a year. It presents the factors that are currently limiting business growth, including aspects of the planning process, finance and land availability.
The UK’s small house builders have played a vital role in meeting the demand for new homes. However, this important sector of the house-building industry has been in decline and in 2015 it accounted for just 12% of the market share, compared with 28% in 2008. This new report discusses the reasons for this ongoing decline, drawing attention in particular to planning issues that are increasingly impeding house-building at the small scale, such as delays in planning decisions and the unpredictability and inconsistency of the planning process.
This research contributes to a better understanding of the real challenges being faced by smaller house builders and developers. It sets out practical steps that could be taken by planning departments, financiers and politicians to help this struggling sector to once again thrive and make its important contribution to housing output.
Download: Full report
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