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  • HPH402: What would make a local developer deliver to Passivhaus standard?

    HPH402: What would make a local developer deliver to Passivhaus standard?

    Developer Giles Lamb and architect Zara Bloomfield explain why they have started delivering certified Passivhaus homes, what extra challenges this presents and how they remain profitable projects.

    Visualisation of Chequers Hill

    Interview with Giles Lamb and Zara Bloomfield

    Giles Lamb is the son of an architect and he grew up in a characterful Victorian coach house, which was always subject to changes. Although he initially worked in technology for investment banks, his passion for building drew him into commercial development around ten years ago, where he initially worked alongside his father. Zara Bloomfield was drawn to architecture because of the blend of creativity, science and problem-solving. After several years in practice, she set up Studio Bloom and learned the realities of running a business alongside design work. The two met when Giles came across one of Zara’s schemes while hunting for a plot; although the timing wasn’t right, he was impressed enough to reach out, and they have collaborated closely ever since. Their relationship is deliberately fluid, built on mutual trust and constant communication rather than rigid contractual arrangements.

    Giles Lamb and Zara Bloomfield share their story of how two previous projects, The Gardener’s House and The Woodland House, served as essential stepping stones toward their first certified Passivhaus development: three new-build homes known as Chequers Hill.

    Woodland House

    Choosing the right site is everything

    One of the clearest messages for anyone entering development is that the site is everything. Giles describes property development as having three parts: finding the site, building, and selling. Finding the site is the most important of the three, requiring constant awareness of what is coming onto the market and how a location might work commercially. Flat land is a priority, since any change in gradient introduces complication and cost. Understanding the local area, the people likely to buy, and their budgets is equally vital, because the most beautiful house in the wrong market will sit unsold.

    Site visits reveal what the paperwork hides

    Photos, surveys and plans only tell part of the story. Zara recounts looking at plots on paper that seemed promising, only to arrive and discover “the topography is completely insane” or some significant feature conveniently absent from the estate agent’s photographs. Walking the land with your architect, in person, is how you make decisions from an informed perspective rather than an optimistic one.

    Land speculators often distort the value of a site

    A newcomer may be surprised by who they are negotiating against. Giles describes a common pattern: a landowner engages an estate agent, who brings in a speculator that secures planning permission for the largest scheme possible, often including basements, purely to inflate the perceived land value. When a genuine developer arrives with a realistic assessment, the landowner’s expectations have already been set unrealistically high. Negotiating back down is a waiting game, and Giles has encountered this on almost every site he has pursued.

    Think about your buyer before you buy the land

    Giles draws on a hard lesson from his previous career setting up a software company: the team built an amazing product but had never worked out who would buy it. He carries this lesson into every property decision. You can build a wonderful house, but if you haven’t considered who will purchase it and how large that market is, you will struggle at the point of sale. This is why the selling phase, though his least favourite because it offers no control, has to inform choices made right at the start.

    Development finance requires a track record

    Financing is where newcomers can hit a wall. Development finance lenders typically want around five years of demonstrable experience before they will lend. Giles bridged this gap early on by funding the first stages of projects himself and taking bridging loans once the building work was sufficiently advanced to reduce the lender’s risk. He also notes that some lenders specialising in sustainable builds are less prescriptive about experience, though initial rates remain high until a relationship is established.

    Forge House – a traditional development carried out by Giles in the early days

    Certification could be a useful tool for lenders

    Being a Passivhaus developer differs considerably from being a conventional developer. Giles argues that independent certification is a commercial carrot: a lender can see that the quality of the build is being checked by an external body. His ambition is for the financing world to recognise certified builds as lower-risk propositions, potentially unlocking better rates. He even suggests agreements could be structured so a developer pays a higher rate if certification is not achieved. In conventional development, nothing equivalent exists to independently verify the quality of what you’re borrowing to build.

    Selling the value of performance is the industry’s shared problem

    When Giles asked estate agents whether he should build to Passivhaus standard, the answer was no. He attributes this to a lack of education rather than a lack of demand. Very few, if any, private developers are building certified homes, so the market has no easy reference point. The Passivhaus community, in his view, needs to market collectively, with estate agents being one important group to target. The benefits are compelling: energy bills dramatically lower than a standard house, better air quality, and homes that hold a steady ambient temperature year-round.

    Giles’ self build was a project that took him a step closer to Passivhaus

    Delivering to Passivhaus standard requires upskilling everyone

    In the lead-up to their first Passivhaus scheme Giles believed it was essential to upskill the whole team, not just the architect. Giles and Zara completed the Passivhaus Designer course, their primary contractor Michael took the Tradesperson course, and their structural engineer trained in the Passivhaus slab design. What this means in practice is that the whole team understands what aspects help deliver the performance that is so often lacking. For example Michael was stunned to learn that, after twenty-five years of practice, rigid insulation was not the best approach for cavity walls. Being shown why and a more effective method creates buy-in and builds confidence that they can do this.

    The proposed Chequers Hill development

    Costs are higher, but they fall with experience

    There’s no hiding the premium. Giles estimates around a 15% uplift on build costs for this first certified project, partly attributable to their own learning time. He expects the next project to come in nearer 10%, and subsequent schemes at 5–7%. The figures are specific to detached houses, which carry fewer economies of scale than terraces, but the trajectory matters: the cost of certified quality is real, it narrows with repetition, and the end value should begin to reflect it as the market matures.

    Delays often come from legalities, not construction

    The greatest ongoing frustrations for the pair have been administrative. Getting planning permission for even a variation on an existing consent has consumed time, effort and money. Acquiring the site took seven months with no banks involved at all, purely due to legal issues. While government reform of planning is welcome, Giles believes the legal system is even harder to navigate, a warning for any newcomer budgeting time for their first scheme.

    Starting small is advice worth taking

    Asked what he would say to someone looking to embark on a development for the first time, Giles recommends starting small and focusing tightly on an area you know well. Every site he considered before choosing Chequers Hill was larger, and he’s thankful he went for the smaller one: even at three homes, the workload and financial demands are substantial. His project management background in technology, appetite for calculated risk and a trusted team around him are what carry the build day to day.

    A key part of scaling up is access to more finance

    The ambition for both Giles and Zara is to secure sites without pre-existing planning consents, which are often restrictive, and to grow the model into something genuinely scalable. Zara is also keen that the next projects are more architecturally aspirational, pushing the limits of what is possible within a compact, affordable footprint. For his part, Giles is aiming for continuity of the pipeline and sees access to greater finance as helping here. Overall they hope other developers will follow their lead and deliver more high performance, sustainable homes, which would in turn help bring costs down for everyone.

    Suggested further reading & resources

    • Giles’ friend Danny Luhde-Thompson has been on the podcast before.
    • Studio Bloom: Website of Zara Bloomfield’s architectural practice for portfolio examples.
    • WARM: certifiers on the Chequers Hill project.

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  • HPH330 : What is a planning consultant? – with Andy Moger

    HPH330 : What is a planning consultant? – with Andy Moger

    Andy Moger, from Tetlow King Planning, explains the role of a planning consultant and the benefits they can bring to a project.

    Interview with Andy Moger

    Andy is a planning consultant for Tetlow King Planning: a planning and development company based in Bristol that operates nationwide.

    A number of years ago he worked on the government’s first pilot scheme for self and custom build – the Heartlands project in Cornwall. Following that, he became more involved in the self and custom build sector, primarily doing work for the Right to Build taskforce. Nowadays, this sector is all he works on, dealing with applications, appeals and site promotions, ranging from single dwellings to larger developments and appeal work for some of the big house builders and strategic land promoters.

    Not all building projects will require planning approval

    It is possible to use ‘permitted development’ rights for work like small extensions and loft conversions, depending on the extent of the area you’re adding to your property.

    The ‘prior approval’ process typically applies to larger extensions. You inform the council who will notify your neighbours. If there haven’t been any objections after a period of time then you’re deemed to have consent.

    Local plans control development in each area

    Each council has to have a local plan; sometimes called a district plan or core strategy. These set out a strategic approach for that area for the next 15-20 years, and contain the policies that control development. If you’re looking to get planning permission on a particular piece of land you will need to check your local plan to see how you fit with those policies, or how you might overcome any potential issues.

    All of these plans will work on the basis of concentrating the development in the most sustainable locations, which will tend to be the largest settlements within an authority area. The settlement hierarchy is:

    • Towns and cities
    • Larger villages with a broad range of services
    • Smaller villages that have some facilities but still place a degree of reliance on higher-order settlements
    • Hamlets and open countryside where the presumption generally is against development happening unless there are specific circumstances, such as for essential agriculture

    Start with a site appraisal

    A planning consultant can carry out a site appraisal before you get to the application submission stage. This looks at a number of areas that might be a barrier to getting planning approval:

    • What the local policy position is
    • What the chances of adhering to those policies is
    • Site constraints, such as flood zones, ecological designations, conservation areas, nearby heritage assets, etc

    This would be followed by a number of surveys and reports

    Providing that the planning consultant thinks they can demonstrate that the project complies with the local plan, a number of surveys need to be carried out to support the planning application. These will depend on the scale of the development but it is likely that some will be requested.

    An ecological report will typically be required to identify whether there are any protected species on the site and sometimes these can only be carried out at a specific time of year. If you miss a survey calendar window, you may need to wait until the following year before trying again.

    Additionally, a transport statement will look at visibility splays and traffic generation from your scheme. Depending on where your site is, there could also be heritage reports, ground contamination reports and archaeological investigations.

    Local validation requirements will tell you what you need to submit

    Local validation requirements supplement the national validation list, with what the local authority considers as appropriate for their area. It tells you what information you need to provide with your application when you submit it. Once you have submitted all the required information on the Planning Portal, and paid your fee, you wait for the council to validate it.

    There are two routes to a planning decision

    If there haven’t been objections to the scheme, or if they’ve been addressed and the case officer is satisfied, then there are two routes to planning approval that might be taken. The first is their delegated decision, which tends to be on smaller, non-contentious schemes. This is where the officer has been given the power to grant or refuse planning consent.

    The other route is where it is put forward to a committee. This might be because it has been called in by a local councillor, or because it is more contentious with a number of objections.

    You have six months to appeal a decision

    If the case officer or committee refuse the application, you have six months in which to appeal. There are three routes for this.

    The first is called written representations, which is the easiest and cheapest. In your statement you would set out your case and submit it to the planning inspectorate. The council does the same. The planning inspectorate reviews both statements and makes a decision as to whether the appeal should be allowed or dismissed.

    The second route is a hearing. Both sides set out their case as above, but then attend a hearing together in person. The planning inspectorate will listen to both parties before making their decision.

    And thirdly, it can go to a public inquiry. This is the most expensive and time-consuming and is run very much like a trial. There are barristers and witnesses, and the inspector will sit as judge. They make their decision based on the written evidence and what they’ve heard in the cross-examinations.

    Choose a planning consultant based on their relevant experience

    If you’re looking for a planning consultant to work on your case with you, it is sensible to choose one with relevant experience of the appeals process that you are using. They should be a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (MRTPI) and have a good track record locally. Don’t be afraid to ask for examples of cases they’ve won, so that you know you’re going with someone who is familiar with local policy and has relationships with councillors and officers in the area.

    Councils have a statutory duty to make self build land available

    Putting your name on the Right to Build register means that the council has a legal duty under the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act to issue the same number of permissions as there are names on the register.

    Andy has been involved in appeals where they have been able to argue that because the council have failed in their legal duty to issue enough consents for self and custom building, then land which might be outside of settlement limits should be permitted for development.

    Andy has also found that although some councils claim to have met their obligations by granting the same number of single dwelling permissions as there are people on their register looking for a plot, further investigation shows that actually, the majority of them aren’t for self or custom build at all. Some of these can be planning permissions for up to 9 dwellings, where they’re clearly developer-led models with no ability for customisation.

    Self Build and Custom Housebuilding Supply in Braintree

    8 out of 10 people aren’t aware of the Right to Build Register

    In one appeal that Andy worked on, although the council had met its obligations, they were able to argue that secondary data sources showed the register was actually a massive underestimation of the numbers of people in the area that wanted to self-build. Many of these were people that weren’t even aware of the self-build register. The inspector in that case allowed the appeal, even though the council had met its statutory duty.

    Andy would encourage anyone to add their details to this register though, as this will increase the number of self build plots the council legally has to make available.

    Outline planning permission is less risky

    A full planning permission provides all the details about your scheme, including layouts, landscaping, scale and massing. If you were to then get planning consent, all you would have to do is discharge the conditions against it, such as material samples, working hours on site etc.

    What a lot of people do is seek an outline consent with access only. This is an illustrative plan showing what you intend to put on the site. With outline approval you have to get subsequent reserved matters approvals for all the elements that you haven’t included at that stage. Outline permission is cheaper, so is therefore considered less of a risk.

    Andy stresses the importance of discharging any pre-commencement conditions, prior to starting work on site.

    Self builders can apply for CIL exemption

    CIL is the Community Infrastructure Levy that some councils have implemented. It is a per square metre charge on development and is intended to pay for strategic infrastructure. Self builders can apply for an exemption, but it is incredibly important to follow the process correctly, and within the timeframes, as failure to do so could lead to a bill running into thousands of pounds.

    Find out more

    Visit the website of Tetlow King Planning

    Follow Tetlow King Planning on Twitter

    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with Andy Moger
  • HPH253 : Would property investors buy sustainable homes? – with Rob Bence

    HPH253 : Would property investors buy sustainable homes? – with Rob Bence

    Property developer and podcaster, Rob Bence, advises on what’s needed for undertaking a successful building development project.

    Exploring a new House Planning Help construction project

    For the last 6 years we have been following House Planning Help founder Ben Adam-Smith on his self build journey. Having completed this in 2018 Ben is now beginning a new chapter, to deliver a small scale development of high performance, ecological homes.

    As with his self build, we’ll be sharing the highs and lows right here on the podcast. So in today’s session, we look at whether it would be a good idea to target our development at property investors.

    Interview with Rob Bence

    The Property Hub, that Rob Bence started with Rob Dix, has come a long way from its beginnings producing the weekly Property Podcast. By engaging with their listeners they built a website and forum where they could interact and learn what the needs of the community were, and build their business accordingly.

    Being self-confessed control freaks has helped their business develop!

    The first stage of their business was about sourcing properties, where they often worked with developers.

    The natural next step was setting up a letting agency, enabling them to be in control of the service levels.

    Feedback from the community was that they couldn’t get good tax advice, so a tax business came next, with a mortgage service also later being brought in-house to ensure they had control over the process.

    The development side was almost inevitable:

    “And I think because we’re control freaks, we thought, we’re doing all of the other stuff. If we can build the product and then have it exactly as we want it and build it as we would choose, then we can control the whole process and the whole service journey from start to end.“

    No property will appeal to all investors

    Rob doesn’t believe that building sustainable homes would appeal to all property investors, but some are becoming increasingly interested about offering a better service and product to their clients, rather than just being focused on yield. So while it may not yet be mainstream for a tenant, there is likely to be a greater demand from investors in the future.

    Investors want hassle-free properties

    Ultimately, investors want their properties to be let quickly, and with as few issues as possible. A well-built home should make the latter more achievable.

    They also want the home to be desirable, so the periods where it is standing empty are kept to a minimum. And being a long-term investment, they are looking at capital growth.

    Rob thinks that unique, sustainable homes that are built to a higher standard will perform better from a capital growth point of view than cheaply built homes that will start to look tired after only a few years.

    Ask letting agents what typifies their best performing properties

    As they’re dealing with investors and tenants on a daily basis, letting agents are best placed to understand what makes a property desirable in their local area.

    Often it might come down to proximity to schools, transport links, and other amenities more typically found in the city centre, but actually there is plenty of opportunity to build investment properties in the suburbs.

    “When you look at the rental market in suburban areas where people do want to rent, it’s often people’s homes that they’ve moved out of. They’re not professional landlords, it’s just they’ve moved on. And often those properties are tired and dated, and I think there’s an opportunity for high quality new builds to really stand out.”

    Alternative financing options may be better than banks

    If you already have construction experience then peer-to-peer lending might be an option to finance the development. They like to see a track record, so at the very least work with a team of people who do have experience in order to build your track record another way. If it’s your first project then rates might be a little higher, but they can be flexible, willing to lend and able to allocate the money quickly.

    Beyond that, Rob suggests working with a finance broker (as opposed to a mortgage broker), and always going with recommendations wherever possible.

    Rob advises trying either of these two options to finance the project, rather than using banks. He says banks may lend to you but will want so much security against the development that you may as well fund it yourself.

    There are pros and cons to selling a development upfront

    Rob thought that agreeing a price and selling developments upfront would impress lenders, but he says actually this is not something they are that concerned with.

    What has worked well for them is getting their ‘exit’ out of the way early in the process so they know they have the money.

    What it does mean however is that you’re locked into a price and could fall foul of rising build costs, or miss out on capital growth from market changes.

    “So, it’s great and it’s nice from a security point of view, but there are some downsides. And you make a choice. You can sell them at the end and not have that security but then possibly get more of an uplift, or you can just lock-in today and know what you’re dealing with.”

    It hasn’t all been plain sailing for them so far

    Property Hub Homes made a loss on their first development but were lucky their other businesses were doing well and could absorb that loss.

    They found it a painful experience but learned valuable lessons. Rob says that while they made lots of mistakes, not having the right team of people on the project was the biggest. He recommends paying for the right people, even if they cost a bit more, because they can make the difference between a profit or a loss.

    Scrutinise your budget and plans

    If you work with a development financier or peer-to-peer lender, they will probably have their own quantity surveyor who will check your plan and figures and decide whether the project is viable, or whether you’re just being overly optimistic!

    If you want further reassurance, Rob suggests paying for an independent surveyor. The cost of a mistake or something priced incorrectly, could be more than covered by their fee.

    Rob’s main advice is to have your numbers checked right at the beginning and invite criticism and challenges to your plans, ideas and timeframes. Even if their responses may be disheartening, you should encourage them and investigate their validity. It will be a lot cheaper to investigate it before you get started than doing it later on.

    Build a quality team

    For those just starting out in development, Rob recommends forming a team that has a good estimator, quantity surveyor and someone good at procurement.

    Their own projects these days are significantly larger and their team is now made up of a construction director, senior quantity surveyor, procurement/estimator, site manager and a land buyer. He says the size of team they currently have is probably overkill for what they need, but reflects where they want to be going and prepares them for bigger projects. As he says, the cost of getting it wrong can be so big that he considers the investment to be totally worthwhile.

    www.matthewglloyd.co.uk

    Be clear on your outcome

    Understanding what you want your outcome to be will help you make better decisions at the outset. With so many decisions that will need to be made, knowing what you want from your development will help make that process a lot easier. It will also help you judge at the end whether the project has been a success or not.

    Don’t go too crazy with your first development!

    Rob says that you will learn the most from your first development; what you like and dislike about being a developer, what projects you might be willing to undertake, whether you have the right team, the right business angle, the right model, whether you’re going after the right markets, etc.

    “All those things you can have the answers in theory, but by being a practitioner, by actually doing it on whatever scale will help inform you and then guide you to make better choices moving on from there.”

    www.matthewglloyd.co.uk

    Find out more

    Visit the website of Property Hub

    Follow Property Hub on Twitter

    Follow Rob Bence on Twitter

    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with Rob Bence.

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