PropertyWire’s Ryan Bembridge speaks to Robert Barton, group managing director of Tarn Homes, about increasing the quality and quantity of housing in the UK.
Power to the planning inspectors
Planning inspectors should be given more powers to award developers costs when local authorities wrongly deny applications.
That is according to Robert Barton of Tarn Homes, who said he’s won 23 planning appeals through his career, but has only been awarded costs twice – these expensive delays could sink a smaller developer.
He said: “If the planning inspector had teeth to rule in favour of sustainable development that would be a huge step forward.
“There should be more grounds to award costs if authorities hold things up.”
Before becoming MD of Tarn Homes, a developer that launched after the pandemic, Barton was formerly regional managing director of Berkeley Homes, land director of St Modwen, and major projects director of Countryside Properties.
Encouraging energy efficient homes
Barton initially called for a carbon-based tax to reward and penalise new homes based on their energy efficiency. However, in a follow up he clarified that stricter regulations might be a better option.
He said: “The key is to create fair competition for developers who are following the right practices. For instance, if we incorporate energy-efficient or environmentally friendly materials that exceed the building regulations, it makes it harder for us to win projects competitively.
“If the government enforces stricter regulations, it would allow us to prioritise our initiatives without being compromised by underbidding. In my opinion, subsidising quality products is more effective than imposing taxes.”
Barton went on to admit that it’s a real challenge when it’s still more financially viable to install gas boilers over solar panels and heat pumps.
He added: “If the carbon footprint of heat pumps is better than that of gas boilers, then we should switch. If not, then we shouldn’t. Legislation works best when it’s easy to understand and implement.”
Financial support for smaller housebuilders
Thirdly, Barton called for a scheme or tax incentives to help smaller housebuilders.
As it stands the cost of planning is viewed as very high, while the expensive finance required “kills them”. If that issue could be improved it would make a “big difference”, he declared.
Barton said: “It’s not necessarily about giving tax breaks, but rather about creating incentives for funders to invest in small developers. This is essential.
“The high cost of the inefficient planning system means that delays in obtaining planning permission result in prohibitive interest costs, which is the primary obstacle for new entrants and gives too much power to large plc developers in the supply chain.”
While he would like to see more small and medium-sized developers drive competition in the market, Barton shot down suggestions that land banking is a problem in the UK, saying the phenomenon is a “lie” and “people will always build things as quickly as they can”.
Oxford-Cambridge arc and the Home Counties
Tarn Homes is a developer that launched after the pandemic and is servicing the home counties, including Oxfordshire, which Barton dubbed a “huge growth area”.
He said it makes sense to build primarily in London and the South East – because that’s where the UK’s housing shortages are most acutely felt.
The developer wouldn’t disclose any of its upcoming projects, but said it was excited by the potential of the South East.