Sir Oliver Letwin’s interim report to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Letwin identifies that the ‘The fundamental driver of build out rates once detailed planning permission is granted for large sites appears to be the ‘absorption rate’ – the rate at which newly constructed homes can be sold into (or are believed by the house-builder to be able to be sold successfully into) the local market without materially disturbing the market price. The absorption rate of homes sold on the site appears, in turn, to be largely determined at present by the type of home being constructed (when ‘type’ includes size, design, context and tenure) and the pricing of the new homes built’.
Oliver Letwin is also conducting a review into post-Brexit regulation with the Red Tape Initiative. Our Chief Executive, Lizzie Glithero-West attended a meeting with him and other cultural sector leads last week and has since shared a range of our Brexit papers with his team. He was particularly interested in Habitat directives and the disparity between VAT charged on new build and on the repair and maintenance of historic buildings.