Supplying new housing: How can more private sector housing and affordable housing be developed in an era of lack of supply?

There is a national crisis of housing supply in the UK and housing is one of government’s highest priorities. The factors behind the failure to meet housebuilding targets are complex, and lie not only within the planning system but the market. The Dorset Councils Partnership — the three councils of North Dorset District Council, West Dorset District Council and Weymouth & Portland Borough Council — are tackling this problem through resourcing an ‘Opening Doors’ programme of accelerated home building. This has included appointing someone with experience in the private house building industry, investigating the establishment of a local authority housing company and setting up a communications programme to spread positive messages about home building locally. Issues affecting the build out of new homes start early in the development process and there is rarely a single reason for delays. Some of the key issues the councils are seeking to address are: the process of negotiation on development site viability; infrastructure funding; the need for early engagement of infrastructure providers and statutory consultees; understanding the local housing market and developers; reducing delays in the planning process.