The Independent Housing Commission led by Sir Michael Lyons

Call for Evidence

The country is in the midst of the biggest housing crisis in a generation. We are building
less than half the number of homes we need to keep up with demand.
This housing shortage plays a central part in the cost of living crisis, leaving millions of
working people unable to afford the homes they want. Back in 1997 it took an average
family just three years to save for a proper deposit on a home but today it takes 22 years.
If home ownership is to be a realistic aspiration for working people, and rents are to be
affordable, then we will need a step change in the scale of house building in England.
At the Labour Party Annual Conference Ed Miliband announced his plans for a Labour
Government to increase the supply of new homes in England above 200,000 a year by the
end of the next Parliament.
To ensure plans to achieve this ambition are in place on day one of a Labour Government,
a Housing Commission chaired by Sir Michael Lyons has been asked to draw up a road
map that will set out the changes to housing and planning policies and practice that are
required to deliver the new homes and communities we need.
Sir Michael is seeking evidence from a range of individuals and organisations across the
housing and planning world and beyond on the structural barriers to, and solutions for,
bringing about a step change in housebuilding. Sir Michael is particularly focused on a
number of key questions as outlined below.

1. The land market - unlocking land for housing development
The high cost of housing is largely driven by the high cost of land. For too long, we have not
been releasing enough land for housing development and by the time this land is given
planning permission it is often prohibitively expensive. Our planning system therefore often
gifts very large windfalls to those able to get planning permission for housing.
This creates incentives to hoard and speculate in land and has also led to a development
sector that can often prioritise trading land, over building decent homes.
The Commission will consider;
How do we get much more residential land to market and what are the best
mechanisms to achieve this?
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How can we ensure that the land brought to market is available for development and not
simply landbanked?
How will a use it or lose it power for local authorities to discourage land banking be
implemented?
Given the consensus that our current development industry is not capable of delivering
the homes we need, how can we bring about greater capacity, competition and diversity
to ensure it can deliver the homes our country so badly needs?

2. Investment in housing and associated infrastructure
To ensure a step-change in housebuilding reform of our housing and planning system is
essential, but greater investment, public and private, into housing and associated
infrastructure is also crucial:
The current structure of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) system is overly
bureaucratic and is hampering sound investment in social housing. What flexibilities
through the HRA and in other areas could be granted to local authorities so they can
build more homes?
What are the barriers to greater private investment, particularly long-term investment.
How much investment must we attract and through what mechanisms? What part can
institutional investment play?

3. The role of a new generation of New Towns and Garden Cities
The UK has never delivered a large uplift in house building without large scale
development, like the post-war new towns.
What contribution can a new generation of New Towns and Garden Cities make to a
step-change in housebuilding?
What are the barriers to, and solutions to ensure, their effective delivery in terms of:
o Financing new settlements;
o Land and land value capture;
o Infrastructure.
What are the most effective and appropriate mechanisms/agencies for delivery?
How can a local authority or groups of authorities best be incentivised to come forward
and identify locations capable of sustaining large scale sites for New Towns and Garden
Cities?

4. A new right to grow
At present, some communities want to grow to meet local housing demand but do not have
the land within their Local Authority boundary to do so. Too often neighbouring authorities
whose cooperation is needed block the building of badly needed homes.
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How can we ensure that Local Authorities that want to expand, but do not have the land
on which to grant planning permission without cooperation from a neighbour, are able to
do so?
What are the incentives, disincentives and requirements (and what is the correct mix)
that should be used to ensure cooperation between Local Authorities to cooperate in a
joint-planning process in their areas?

5. Share the benefits of development with local communities:
Despite various attempts there remains a mismatch between national and regional need for
further house building and the incentives local communities and councils receive when
granting permission for specific developments, especially for major developments like new
towns. There are huge windfall profits from the granting of planning permission but these
are captured by landowners. Agricultural land is valued at under 20,000/hectare, while
land with residential planning permission is valued at around 2,000,000/hectare an
increase of over 10,000 per cent.
Is the current planning gain system fit for purpose and what alternatives exist?
How can we ensure that a larger share of the windfall gains from planning permission
goes to local communities?




















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The Expert Panel
Sir Michael has appointed an expert Panel to advise him when reviewing evidence and
developing his conclusions. This Expert Panel has been drawn from across the housing
industry and government and brings together a wealth of knowledge and practical
experience of housing delivery. The Expert Panel comprises:
Sir Michael Lyons
Tom Bloxham, Chairman and Co-Founder, Urban Splash.
Mark Clare, Group Chief Executive, Barratt Developments Plc.
Julia Evans, National Federation of Builders.
Kate Henderson, Chief Executive, Town and Country Planning Association.
Bill Hughes, Legal and General.
Grania Long, Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Housing.
Simon Marsh, Head of Planning Policy, RSPB.
David Orr, Chief Executive, National Housing Federation.
Richard Parker, Partner and Head of Housing, PwC.
Malcolm Sharp, Immediate Past President, Planning Officers Society.
Ed Turner, Deputy Leader, Oxford City Council.
Prof. Cecilia Wong, Professor of Spatial Planning, University of Manchester.
Working groups which have already been set-up by Shadow Ministers will also inform the
work of the commission.

Contact us
Responses to the Call for Evidence should be submitted to
submissions@lyonshousingreview.org.uk or online at lyonshousingreview.org.uk by 28
February 2014.
A programme of meetings and roundtables will then be held with selected respondents in
Spring. The Lyons Housing Review is a private body. Responses to the Call for Evidence
will not therefore be subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Further details of the Lyons Housing Review can be found at the website
lyonshousingreview.org.uk.

The independent Lyons Commission is supported in its work by the Fabian Society.








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