{"id":774572,"date":"2025-02-20T09:35:27","date_gmt":"2025-02-20T09:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=774572"},"modified":"2025-02-21T08:32:46","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T08:32:46","slug":"infill-traits-how-to-kickstart-housebuilding-on-leftover-urban-plots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/infill-traits-how-to-kickstart-housebuilding-on-leftover-urban-plots","title":{"rendered":"How do you kickstart an infill housing boom?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last month, the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, went big. She vowed to do big things to make big impacts. The Labour government, she said, would go \u2018further and faster\u2019 to kickstart economic growth.<\/p>\n

As well as her controversial commitment to a third runway at Heathrow airport, she outlined plans for 18 new towns.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But big dreams take time to come true and the government needs quick wins to make a dent in its target of 1.5 million new homes by 2030.<\/p>\n

Because despite Labour\u2019s ambitions, the number of new homes being built in England bumps limply along. Only 107,000 new homes (based on EPC certificates) have been recorded in the wake of July\u2019s election victory, the BBC found, down by a tenth compared with the number built in the same six months a year earlier.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, those working on major housing schemes are finding the realities of the new building safety regime a significant and problematic blocker on development.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has rubberstamped just two out of the 130 higher-risk building schemes (residential proposals over 18m tall) submitted by developers since the new gateway process began in October 2023.<\/p>\n

So could a resurgence in smaller-scale, infill residential projects be at least a partial solution to the housing crisis?<\/p>\n

According to the YIMBY Alliance, they could. The pro-development campaigners estimate these kinds of squeezed-in schemes could provide a not-to-be-sniffed-at 30,000 new homes a year.<\/p>\n

Architects are hopeful too. Jay Morton, a director at residential expert Bell Phillips, sees infill sites as a \u2018low-hanging fruit\u2019 for delivering new housing. Homes on these kinds of\u00a0 <\/span>plots \u2013 such as former garages or high-street gap sites \u2018in denser urban areas with good transport, amenities and existing communities\u2019 \u2013 could be \u2018quicker to build [and] easier to procure\u2019.<\/p>\n

Chlo\u00eb Phelps goes a step further. The chief executive of architecture studio Grounded at council estate regeneration developer Place Capital Group insists that such schemes \u2018are going to be critical to delivering new homes on brownfield sites over the next few years, with estimates that there is capacity for more than 120,000 homes on small sites in London alone.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"

Working Title Architects recently won approval for a three-storey, one-bedroom house on a 3m-wide site in East Dulwich, south London. The scheme sits next to a new-build two-storey cottage<\/p>\n\t

Source:Haze Viz Limited<\/p><\/div>\n

Colm Lacey, now of consultancy Soft Cities but previously with Phelps at Croydon Council\u2019s now-defunct small sites housing arm Brick by Brick, agrees that infill projects could have \u2018a huge role\u2019 to play in housing supply \u2013 \u2018far more so than grey belt or new town development\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He adds: \u2018[Squeezing] a small number of units out of a very large number of infill sites should be far easier than squeezing a large number of units out of an increasingly small number of viable major\u00a0sites.\u2019 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Interestingly the House of Lords Built Environment Committee came to a similar conclusion in its inquiry into Labour\u2019s grey belt policy earlier this month. It said the drive to unlock sites on the boundaries of existing communities would be \u2018unlikely to make any significant difference to the number of new homes that can be built\u2019.<\/p>\n

What then is hindering the widespread adoption of infill housing? What are the potential solutions? And how can architects play a role in making this happen?<\/p>\n

The barriers and challenges<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The main culprit in the blame game is the slow and inefficient planning system, with timelines often stretching far beyond expectations.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Take as a typical example, MOST Architecture\u2019s recently approved six-home, upper-level infill project on Kingsland High Street in Dalston, east London.<\/p>\n

A supposed eight-week timeframe stretched to nearly two years for reasons that practice founder Olga McMurdo claims were \u2018sometimes baffling\u2019 but \u2018largely due to unresponsiveness\u2019.<\/p>\n

She tells the AJ: \u2018Our experience with navigating the planning process has been exhausting \u2013 even for a project that enjoyed general support from planners and local conservation groups from the\u00a0outset.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018[Admittedly] it is an unusual project. It builds on top of a one-storey high street retail unit and the yard behind it to create a small courtyard housing development. But my goodness, they made us work for that consent \u2013 for a project that was never particularly contentious.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"

Bell Phillips used a form of pattern book design for two house types in Newham, east London, which were replicated across various sites (Pitchford Street pictured)<\/p>\n\t

Source:Kilian O\u2019Sullivan<\/p><\/div>\n

The scheme was designed as starter homes for first-time buyers but, McMurdo says, Hackney pushed for larger family dwellings within the development. And, despite the scale, the authority asked for numerous detailed technical reports, including construction logistics plans, flood risk assessments and travel plans. It also demanded air quality and noise impact assessments, which were \u2018almost certainly identical to those provided for neighbouring developments on the same block\u2019.<\/p>\n

In terms of balancing conflicting demands, Phelps says sites end up \u2018getting negotiated so harshly on all sides that they get stuck in planning for ages \u2013 a drain on project resources in itself\u2019. She adds that then \u2018they often have features crammed into them to satisfy the full breadth of consultees [which] can sometimes make them too costly and ultimately unviable\u2019.<\/p>\n

Haworth Tompkins director Chris Fellner also feels the current planning rules are too inflexible, treating infill schemes much the same as larger developments. As a result, architects work within \u2018highly prescriptive\u2019 efficiency targets which must comply with minimum space standards and \u2018very strict\u2019 environmental regulations, including biodiversity net gain.<\/p>\n

\u2018There is very little appetite for [architectural] innovation,\u2019 Fellner adds. He feels design quality is measured solely in terms of \u2018what percentage of dual aspect homes are achieved and how may hours of daylight the shared courtyards achieve on the 31 March\u2019.<\/p>\n

Architects lament the lack of design and development expertise within planning departments \u2013 expertise that could cut through the chaff and subjectively weigh up the impacts and benefits.<\/p>\n

Infill schemes need to satisfy many different parties, not least the (usually many) neighbours. Backland plots can be riddled with overlooking issues.<\/p>\n

As McMurdo puts it: \u2018Qualitative elements require talent and experience to make nuanced decisions. So, where have all the great planners\u00a0gone?\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Added to this is a patchwork of unpredictable policies that vary across different local authorities \u2013 even between neighbouring councils \u2013 creating unwanted complexity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

A six-home infill housing scheme by MOST Architecture, which will be built above and behind an existing Boots store in Hackney\u2019s busy Kingsland Road. Below: Floorplan of sheme<\/p>\n\t

<\/p><\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

David Gouldstone of Gouldstone & Co has recently secured two separate approvals from Lewisham Council, which he praises for having \u2018a really pragmatic approach to infill\u2019 and \u2018a good small sites guide too\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But his experience has not always been so positive. For example, variations in the affordable housing contribution requiring additional consultant fees have been an unexpected\u00a0struggle.<\/p>\n

\u2018It would be great to have consistent and clear policies,\u2019 he says, \u2018so that the potential contributions could be known from the outset to assist in the early viability of the project and speed up the discussions during planning, ideally based on a clear and basic contribution per\u00a0dwelling.\u2019<\/p>\n

The amount of ever-shifting red tape can be equally frustrating for the planners too, says James Bazeley, of emerging practice Working Title Architects.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

His new studio and its sister company and development arm Working Title Land recently won approval for a 66m\u00b2, three-storey, one-bedroom house on a thin 3m-wide site in East Dulwich, south London. At least two other unsuccessful submissions had been made by other architects.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018The planning requirements are constantly changing,\u2019 he says, \u2018and there is an ever-increasing number of reports required, such as for noise and biodiversity, which is a challenge for architects. But planners are also finding it difficult as they are already under a lot of pressure.\u2019<\/p>\n

Even if the under-resourced planning officers are onside, that isn\u2019t always the end of the approval journey. Political interference can sink the best laid plans.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Architect Fourth_space<\/a> successfully navigated the \u2018awkward, lengthy\u2019 system to get the go-ahead for 100 new low-energy affordable homes across 13 different sites in Hounslow, west London, all for affordable housing provider Sapphire Independent Living.<\/p>\n

But practice directors Huw Williams and Steve Sinclair say compliant submissions were often referred to local councillors at planning committee.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Decisions were subject to councillors lacking in planning and design knowledge, who may not have been fully behind the original local authority promise,\u2019 they say. \u2018So, in some ways, local politics was trumping the original pledge for homes.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many authorities are also failing to think strategically about their potential sites, approaching smaller-scale development in a piecemeal, one-off way. This feeds into the sometimes insurmountable barrier facing the trickier brownfield plots: the money\u00a0question.<\/p>\n

Problems often arise with access and servicing which, Fellner points out, can mean \u2018extra cost for abnormal enabling works, for example the need to widen the access road or to provide utilities and below-ground services\u2019.<\/p>\n

Infill sites, he goes on, result in less efficient, less repetitive schemes and more bespoke \u2018untried and tested solutions\u2019. They create fewer homes per floor and core, higher wall-to-floor ratios, and lower net-to-gross efficiencies. It is not the model that makes the larger housebuilders all their cash. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

PRP’s Hitchin Square scheme on a previous garage site in the London borough of Tower Hamlets \u2013 the five three-bedroom home project was delivered for Circle Housing\/Old Ford Housing<\/p>\n\t

Source:PRP<\/p><\/div>\n

Possible solutions?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) already has a \u2018presumption in favour of sustainable development\u2019 and recognises that \u2018small and medium sized sites can make an important contribution to meeting the housing requirement of an area\u2019.<\/p>\n

It also encourages authorities to avoid complex and restrictive obligations on smaller plots that could reduce their viability and\u00a0delivery.<\/p>\n

But local planning authorities are clearly interpreting the framework differently and the pro-development presumption is not always apparent. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is an argument that the smaller the proposal, the stronger the presumption should be.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lacey goes further. \u2018For private housing, and I say this hesitantly, but there is room for a form of permitted development for infill sites below a certain size, say nine units,\u2019 he tells the AJ.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Arguably the planning challenges of converting a large office block to residential use are far greater than those presented by a small contextual residential infill scheme. So why should permitted development rights apply to one and not the\u00a0other?\u2019<\/p>\n

Under this model, he adds, there would need to be a sustainability assessment, along the lines of the Building for Life standards, and schemes would need to be \u2018broadly contextual in terms of massing\u2019, based on some consistent design\u00a0principles.<\/p>\n

Bell Phillips\u2019 Morton thinks a pattern-book approach might work. Her practice has already worked on \u2018a form\u2019 of design template in Newham, where it designed two house types\u2014a standard terrace and a wheelchair-accessible option\u2014which were replicated across various sites.<\/p>\n

\u2018Councils could package sites together and use pre-approved designs to deliver high-quality homes across multiple locations,\u2019 she says. \u2018Architects could develop flexible, innovative designs to address site constraints, ranging from single dwellings to terraces.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018These could also be delivered by self-builders, community land trusts, or small-scale developers, promoting diversity in housing delivery.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"

Fourth_space won approval for 100 new low energy affordable homes across 13 sites in Hounslow<\/p>\n\t

Source:fourth_space<\/p><\/div>\n

As well as calls for each authority to have a clear Small Sites SPD (Supplementary Planning Document), many architects are urging a reduction in repetitive and over-the-top requirements on infill schemes. Even some\u00a0exemptions.<\/p>\n

McMurdo suggests \u2018rolling levels of planning consent\u2019 allowing a \u2018swift decision within eight weeks, based on plans, sections, elevations, visualisations and a short design\u00a0statement\u2019. Under this multilevel gateway approach, other issues like sustainability could be addressed later. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Gouldstone would also like to see fewer planning committee hearings for minor proposals and more decisions \u2018based on professional policy judgement and not local political considerations\u2019.<\/p>\n

Money, money, money\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

A revolution in infill housing will also need financial support, including to address land acquisition costs. This could potentially be through public-sector land ownership or discounted rates for community-led schemes.<\/p>\n

Fellner says the government should set up an \u2018enabling fund\u2019, which would help cover the costs of clearing up and sorting out the \u2018abnormals\u2019 found on some plots, through higher levels of grant funding.<\/p>\n

Local authorities should also be encouraged to offer up land for community-led homes \u2018spearheaded by local people\u2019, says Archio\u2019s Mellis Haward.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, this set-up would also need a \u2018small amount of pre-construction funding [to] get things going\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s unreasonable to expect community groups to take all the risk,\u2019 Haward says. \u2018If a council undertakes the due diligence to find the sites and makes sure the right people secure the tender, then funding could also be provided, such as the former Community Housing Fund that ended recently.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Another idea would be a national \u2018clearing house\u2019 with the government guaranteeing a fixed minimum price for compliant affordable housing\u00a0units.<\/p>\n

Lacey adds: \u2018This would reduce the potential for debate about the impact of affordable housing requirements on viability and create a much stronger link between land value and profitability.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"

Gouldstone and Co’s approved Lewisham Way scheme in Lewisham, London. The project will deliver eight new homes, featuring a four storey building to the front of the site and a new
mews to the rear<\/p>\n\t

<\/p><\/p><\/div>\n

How can architects help?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Undeveloped parcels of land are usually undeveloped for a\u00a0reason.<\/p>\n

But architects have the skills to identify infill sites, especially those with \u2018genuine potential from the outset\u2019, says PRP director Bhupinder Chawla.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Though there are many examples of plots that have had \u2018over-optimistic expectations\u2019 later burdened with wasteful assessments before being scrapped, he says that \u2018bringing an architect on board at the very beginning of this process means there is a better-quality appraisal of whether a site is\u00a0viable\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Gouldstone agrees. Once identified, these \u2018typically awkward, atypical and constrained bits of leftover land\u2019 need architects to come up with \u2018creative design solutions\u2019 \u2013 more so than on larger sites delivered by volume housebuilders, he says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, argues Fellner, these plots could be used to explore ideas, take risks and innovate, becoming a \u2018real test bed for new housing typologies\u2019.<\/p>\n

For instance, he explains, their small scale allows architects to specify recycled or upcycled materials more feasibly: \u2018While it is hard to source reclaimed bricks for a new 35-storey tower block, it is totally doable for a short row of infill townhouses.\u2019<\/p>\n

The rise of the proactive architect as developer could also be part of the solution, if housebuilding can be made profitable for those willing to take the risk. Yet, for now, the planning shackles remain on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

McMurdo makes a final plea: \u2018Please, let us experiment with new ideas, addressing tight urban sites with skill and imagination to create outstanding projects,\u2019 she says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018The current planning system is not enabling this; worse, in many cases, it is making these projects financially unviable.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"

Archio’s infill scheme for London Community Land Trust and Greenwich Citizens Housing using two council-owned sites for community land trust homes.<\/p>\n\t

<\/p><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last month, the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, went big. She vowed to do big things to make big impacts. The Labour government, she said, would go \u2018further and faster\u2019 to kickstart economic growth. As well as her controversial commitment to a third runway at Heathrow airport, she outlined plans for 18 new towns.\u00a0 But big dreams …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":915,"featured_media":774609,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[681],"tags":[2297,100620,1699,3406,101499,101488],"yoast_head":"\nHow do you kickstart an infill housing boom?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Could more infill housing give the government a swift but significant win in its rush to build 1.5 million new homes by 2030? 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