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A leading land broker is calling for councils to spend money borrowed from the Government at discount rates on building affordable homes, rather than on risky investment projects.

The comments from Adam Hesse at Aston Mead Land & Planning follow the recent trend for local authorities to invest in core income-producing assets – both inside and outside of their jurisdictions. This includes the likes of Spelthorne Borough Council in Surrey buying Sunbury Business Centre for £360m, and Runnymede Council purchasing M&G Real Estate’s Chiswick office for £63m.

Aston Mead Director Adam Hesse said: “You can understand why a local authority will jump at the chance for a five or six per cent yield, and in some cases it may be wise to do so. But the problem is that they are using cheap money to make investment decisions – which is often a skill set they don’t have. Surely this money should be invested in local homes instead?

“Local authorities are one of the biggest landowners in the country. As they can borrow money from Government at discount rates well below 1 per cent, why don’t they use it to build affordable homes precisely where they need them? After all, developers will fight calls for affordable housing on their sites. But councils already own the land so they can build whatever homes they like. They can also build more cheaply, as well as deciding the precise location, number and design of the properties concerned. They should have no trouble getting the schemes through planning, and the results would be seen very quickly. The ones they let out on affordable rental packages would bring in a guaranteed rental income and become a genuine investment. Meanwhile, the ones they sell at reduced rates would pay for the costs of development, before the council moved onto a new site.”

Adam says that such a process may lack the glamour and excitement of making big property investments all over the country, but would produce instant advantages closer to home.

He added: “Let’s face it, building local authority housing is not exactly ‘sexy’. But local councils aren’t there to take exciting or risky investment decisions. Their taxpayers want them to produce tangible benefits in their communities which will be instantly felt – and providing affordable housing is one of the most important issues of our generation.

“It would mean councils would have a guaranteed captive audience, and be able to replace the local authority homes sold-off in the Margaret Thatcher era. It would assist locals onto the property ladder who otherwise couldn’t afford to buy, and get large numbers of low income families out of expensive bedsits and B&Bs into their own homes. Plus villages across the country wouldn’t be ruined with ugly council houses – which is what happened in the 60s and 70s. In other words, it’s win / win all round!”

Leading land broker Aston Mead has backed a call for good design in the million new homes which are set to be built before the end of the decade.

Director Charles Hesse was responding to comments made last week by Neil Parish, the chairman of the environment select committee, who said that inappropriate construction risked “killing any sense of goodwill” in local communities. His words echoed those of Ruth Davidson, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives back in July, who warned that the Government needed to “avoid the disastrous design choices of the past” in order to create “local support” for additional new building.

Charles Hesse said: “Good design is essential in any new construction. And the truth is that appropriately designed homes need not be any more expensive than inappropriately designed ones.

“Instead, it’s a question of selecting a suitable size of development, with an awareness of local infrastructure, a sensitivity to the surroundings in which the new buildings will be placed and a recognition of the features which make those homes desirable to buyers. Developers are businesses after all – and building properties which people are clamouring to buy makes good commercial sense.”

The Conservative manifesto reaffirmed a pledge to build a million new homes in the UK by 2020. But there are fears that the move could prompt a backlash if the homes are unsightly. However, Charles Hesse said there also needed to be an acceptance on the part of communities that some new local building was inevitable.

He explained: “Ask anyone in the country, and they’ll agree that the UK needs hundreds of thousands of new homes. But ask the same people to accept construction in their town or village – in some cases any construction at all – and some will immediately deny that it should take place. Yet they fail to see the contradiction in their argument. It’s a case of ‘Not In My Back Yard’ syndrome or ‘Nimbyism’, which is a scourge of modern British society.

“I’ve even seen posters campaigning against new construction in the windows of houses which themselves have recently been constructed. Surely the owners of these homes must understand that newcomers want to live in the area for precisely the same reasons that attracted them. But presumably they believe that whilst it was acceptable for their own home to be built, any more is too much.

“Perhaps these people have been put off by the design mistakes of the sixties and seventies. Fortunately, those days are far behind us. The best developers have long recognised that creating homes which are suitable for their surroundings as well as appealing to the needs of modern house buyers is the way forward.

“The new minimum home size charter is preventing ‘rabbit hutch’ style properties being built, and advancing technology is making features like glass and solar roofs ever more attractive.

“So good design in house building has never been more important – especially when it helps prevent the creation of more Nimbys in our cities, towns and villages.”

Leading Surrey and Berkshire land broker Aston Mead has backed calls for a dramatic cut to stamp duty across all property price brackets.

In recent days, calls for a reduction in the levy paid by those buying property have come from a Cabinet minister, a special advisor to David Cameron, and North East Somerset MP Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Aston Mead Land & Planning Director Adam Hesse said: “Not only is stamp duty a tax on moving, it also reduces the supply of new homes. This in turn further contributes to Britain’s housing affordability crisis.

“All the benefits of brand new properties make them very attractive to those starting out on the housing ladder, as well as those downsizing after retirement. But the abhorrent levels of tax for buyers in the top price brackets means that those owners can’t sell, thereby stifling the market. Meanwhile, for first time buyers, it’s another few thousand pounds that they’ve got to find, at the point when they are making the biggest expenditure of their lives.

“All of this means that people often continue to rent when they would rather buy, or they remain stuck in a property which is either too big or too small for them. It’s utter madness!”

Adam Hesse is also keen to point out that lower rates of stamp duty are likely to increase the tax take for the Treasury. He explained: “Stamp duty is actually a very inefficient way of collecting tax revenue. It only produces maximum income for the Exchequer if there is a high volume of receipts. So a significant reduction in stamp duty would actually boost Treasury coffers by increasing activity in the housing market.”

His comments follow the publication of a report by the London School of Economics (LSE) and the VATT Institute for Economic Research, which indicated that stamp duty reduces the rate of house moves by nearly a third, preventing large homes from being freed-up for young, growing families.

Adam Hesse added: “People pay for their single largest asset with money which has already been taxed once. Understandably, they resent having to pay through the nose again, simply to be able to move.

“Before 1997 the rate of stamp duty on the most expensive homes in the country was just 1%. Twenty years later that figure has gone through a 1,100% hike to an extortionate 12%. The problem is that as soon as you discourage activity at the top of the market, every other price band slows down as well – and some of them have ground to a halt.

“So no one is realistically expecting a return to the 1% rates seen two decades ago. But a radical overhaul of the system is unquestionably what’s needed in the Autumn Budget, to allow Britain’s property market to flourish once again.”

Leading land broker Aston Mead Land & Planning has welcomed the announcement from the Government that councils in wealthy rural areas will be forced to increase their housing targets.

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid announced last week that some of the most sought-after parts of the country will be the specified location for additional new homes, to help tackle the housing crisis.

Director Charles Hesse said; “It’s only fair that communities that have benefited from rising property prices now play their part in solving the housing shortage. These parts of the country are sought-after for good reason – and that’s because people already want to live here.

“So this is a fantastic opportunity to create quality new developments, complete with gardens and designated green spaces, where people flock to buy because the homes are so attractive, and which have been specially designed to protect the appeal of the towns and villages in which they are situated.”

The proposals mean that councils are expected to be asked to commission assessments of the amount of housing and of what type is needed in their area. They will then use the results to inform the housing target in the local plan, which sets out where new homes can be constructed. The target will be reassessed every five years. This new method of calculating housing need is expected to result in increases of up to 25% in housing forecasts in the Home Counties.

Charles Hesse added: “Those of us fortunate to live in wealthy areas need to accept that, for many, housing is particularly difficult to afford. The only way in which we can change that is to accept more homes being built nearby.”

But Charles Hesse also highlighted the importance of ensuring that suitable infrastructure was in place before any construction work was carried out.

He explained: “Such a vision for the right kind of mass house-building programme is all very well. But it’s absolutely crucial that consideration is also given to creating all the additional roads, school and doctors’ surgeries that will be needed. Without these essential aspects, any attempt at constructing new communities is simply doomed to fail.”

Leading land agent Aston Mead Land & Planning says that the UK property market is now running at two speeds, in which second-hand properties stagnate while the sale of new homes continues to rise.

The company’s comments come after the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) predicted a “fairly flat” market in the months ahead, whilst the UK’s largest house builder Barratt released figures indicating that it will build more homes in 2017 than the in the previous eight years.

Aston Mead Land & Planning Director Adam Hesse said: “A clear line is starting to divide the property market into two groups. The second-hand market continues to be hampered by a lack of supply, with the number of properties on estate agents’ books hovering just above a record low. However, the building of new homes is powering ahead, with some companies reporting completion levels higher than at any time since 2008.

“For buyers, the difference with a new home is that the developer absolutely has to sell. Second-hand sellers may only agree a price if they find a house to move to, and there is always the possibility of getting gazumped. But in the new homes market, the developer is driven and motivated to ensure that a sale goes ahead.”

Adam Hesse’s comments coincide with ‘New Homes Week’ – an initiative developed by the Home Builders Federation (HBF), which runs from 15-21 May. The organisation claims that buying a new home could save the purchaser spending over £50,000 to upgrade an older property to the same standard.

Adam Hesse adds: “Some buyers will be committed to purchasing an older home, whatever the cost. But there are those who could easily be tempted into buying a new home – particularly considering the high level of service and support they receive from the companies concerned, as well as the benefit of brand new fixtures and fittings, the latest energy saving technology, and schemes like Help to Buy.

“Uncertainty created by the snap election and the fallout of changes to stamp duty continues to provide a challenge for the market as a whole. But the fact that developers are guaranteed sellers of the increasing number of new homes now available means that a two-speed market is likely to run throughout the summer, and perhaps until the end of the year.”

The director of one of the country’s most respected land brokers is calling on planners, architects and builders to increase the amount of site sharing on new construction land across the UK.

Charles Hesse from Aston Mead Land & Planning says the idea of putting similar companies and organisations together on the same site would increase the amount of brownfield land available in town and village centres.

He explains: “Brownfield sites are the holy grail of new-build construction. Their accessible and central locations make them highly desirable, but they are often in short supply because established businesses or organisations are already using them. What we’re proposing is putting several similar organisations under one roof to share resources, increase efficiency, and open-up their old sites for essential residential building in the heart of towns and villages.”

Charles Hesse suggests that there are some organisations which naturally lend themselves to such an idea.

He said; “Take the emergency services, for example. Towns often have a separate fire station, police station and ambulance station. Not only would these groups work more effectively if they were on the same site, but there would be operational cost savings too, as well as easier departure points on the outskirts of town for fire engines, police vehicles and ambulances.

“Similarly, why shouldn’t a doctor’s surgery be positioned on the ground floor of a building, with retirement flats above it? The residents could use a lift to get to and from their apartments, and a care home could be built alongside. That way, the surgery would be based in the heart of the community amongst those who would use it most often.

“The same is true of schools. Even if it means building several storeys, infant and junior schools could work from the same building (with the infants on the ground floor), sharing their use of playgrounds and playing fields outside.

“But most importantly, after the previously separate groups have been brought together, their old, redundant sites could then be used for more housing. These areas would be perfectly placed for the new residents to be within walking distance of the local facilities, as well as often being more attractive than the buildings which were there previously.

“Such an approach takes creative, lateral thinking. But we don’t always have to work with the buildings we already have. We can build our way to a better environment – freeing up Brownfield sites for much-needed housing – to create something that works for businesses, organisations and residents alike.”

The Planning Director of one of the country’s most respected land brokers is calling on the UK’s villages to take the lead in house building.

Adam Hesse from Aston Mead Land & Planning says that this could produce over 300,000 new properties in a way which would be a genuine benefit to local communities.

He explains: “What I am proposing is that every village in the country agrees to build between five and ten new homes each over the next five years. So instead of having hundreds of homes imposed on them by big construction companies, the villagers themselves could play a part in deciding where these new homes are built, their size and cost, and what they look like.

“This would help ensure vibrant communities, boosted by the arrival of new families with children attending local schools. It might also prevent the closure of shops or pubs through lack of support, as well as avoiding a level of demand on the local infrastructure which would be unsustainable. With over 30,000 villages in the UK, that’s an additional 300,000 properties that otherwise simply would not have been built.”

Adam Hesse says that this would be in addition to the creation of 14 ‘garden villages’ from Cornwall to Cumbria already announced by the government, which would in itself create 48,000 new homes.

He adds: “Understandably, people living in villages are concerned about changes to their surroundings and to their way of life. This can lead to charges of ‘nimbyism’ – whereas in fact it’s more often a reasonable fear of transforming the character of these villages forever.

“So let the giants of the construction industry play their part in towns and cities which can accommodate the level of housing required. But in our villages, how much better it would be for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to consult with the community and build up to ten bespoke properties, of a style and mix considered suitable, and designed to suit each village’s requirements – the purchase of which could even be restricted to those already living locally.”

Adam Hesse says that most UK villages have a parcel of land within the area of the local plan, suitable for such small-scale construction.

He explains: “People very often don’t realise the construction possibilities of the land near where they live. It could be a former builder’s yard, petrol station, or unused paddock on the edge of the village. In some cases, the building of houses there would be a positive enhancement of the surroundings, as well as adding to the area’s vibrancy and desirability.

“Of course, no one would be forced to sell a piece of land if they didn’t like what was being proposed for it. But if they want a positive, sympathetic and experienced view of a piece of land’s potential, we would be delighted to hear from them.”

Leading land agents Aston Mead have responded positively to this week’s government’s White Paper on housing – the biggest shake-up of housing policy in two generations.

In particular, the company approves of the requirement for councils to set aside land for thousands of homes, under new Government targets to allow large scale construction to take place.

Aston Mead Land & Planning Director Charles Hesse said: “For years we have been calling for a ‘standardised’ way of calculating the number of homes each local authority needs to build, to prevent councils ‘fudging’ figures on housing demand, in order to limit development. At last the Government has seen sense, and provided a system which should provide a framework to get Britain building again.”

Aston Mead has also praised plans to relax planning restrictions near high streets, as well as an emphasis on the building of ‘mansion blocks’ and four-storey terrace houses instead of blocks of flats. Charles Hesse explained: “Our high streets are in desperate need of revitalisation, and this is certainly one way to go about achieving this goal. It’s also good to see a move away from the high-rise blocks of 50 years ago, and a return to the construction of homes that all of us would be happy to live in.”

However, Aston Mead was more critical about the Government’s retaining of restrictions on the green belt, which allows councils to build only ‘in exceptional circumstances’. Charles Hesse added: “Time and time again we have been making the case for a reclassification of green belt land, to allow some of it to be freed-up for development. It’s patently obvious that whilst some of it is so precious that it should be retained as all costs, much of it – particularly the land around railways stations and motorway junctions – is not really ‘green’ at all.

“Construction here would create thousands of new homes, all with easy access to excellent transport links, on land which most people would genuinely not miss, and which most of them did not realise was official green belt anyway. So we call yet again for the Government to recognise just how valuable freeing up some of this land might be.”

“All in all, we have to accept that building 150,000 new homes each year is no longer good enough. Instead, we should be aiming at a figure which is at least double that number. And this White Paper goes some way in providing the basis to make those ideas a reality.”

Leading land agent Aston Mead has welcomed two government initiatives launched this week, which will create tens of thousands of new homes across the country.

The company was responding to plans for 14 new villages and 3 ‘garden’ towns in England announced on Monday, as well as details for thousands of new discounted starter homes on 30 local authority brownfield sites, the details for which were released on Tuesday.

Aston Mead Land & Planning Director Adam Hesse said: “This is precisely the sort of initiative we have been demanding from the Government for some years now. We desperately need radical and large-scale proposals like this to deal with the shortage of available property in the country. And as these are the first two Government announcements of 2017, it’s clear that Theresa May and her team are rightly making housing a key priority in the year ahead.”

The plans will deliver 14 new villages of between 1,500 to 10,000 homes to be built outside existing settlements, as well as three towns of more than 10,000 houses each, alongside Aylesbury, Taunton and Harlow and Gilston.

In addition, thousands of new starter homes will be built this year, and made available exclusively to first-time buyers aged between 23 and 40 at a discount of at least 20% to market value, with a cap of £450,000 in London, and £250,000 outside.

Adam Hesse added: “The creation of 200,000 new properties in these garden towns and villages from Cheshire down to Devon will not only provide a high quantity of homes, but also bring the jobs and facilities the local communities so desperately need.

“Meanwhile, when it comes to starter homes, dynamic and pro-active local authorities are clearly at an advantage. The first 30 have been chosen on the basis of their potential to build the homes quickly, with the partnerships being established under the Government’s £1.2bn Starter Home Land Fund.

“So these announcements undoubtedly make for an excellent start to the New Year; but the government shouldn’t just sit on its laurels. It’s important to keep the momentum going and deliver this many homes every year from now on. We desperately need more initiatives like this – building on both brownfield sites as well as the less attractive areas of green belt – in order to help alleviate the UK housing crisis.”