There is good news in the Autumn budget 2018 for those involved with the development of smaller sites. The introduction of government guarantees for borrowing by SME builders is part of a set of measures which opens up the opportunities to develop and build and helps unlock the great potential that these sites hold.
Larger developers and contractors tend to opt for the larger, easier sites, and avoid the smaller, more challenging sites, even where these are in locations where people want to live and where there is better access to infrastructure and employment.
We know that only 10% of housing development uses the services of an architect and there is mounting public concern, expressed by the Prime Minister, about the quality and design of housing. More complex sites require much greater expertise to address planning, technical and design issues.
Smaller architectural practices such as Belsize Architects tend to have such expertise, based on their extensive experience of smaller, problematic sites, which makes them the right people to work with developers and their builders in resolving such challenges while preserving economic viability.
Of course, this particular step is only one of the many needed to deliver the country the housing it needs, but it is one in the right direction. We look forward to working with those builders and developers who want to take advantage of the fresh opportunities that this and other measures being introduced by government bring.