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Few will deny that there is a housing crisis in the UK, even though more homes were being built in 2018 than at any time since the 2007 crash. However, even though industry is on track to deliver the government target of 1 million extra homes by 2020, the pathway to delivering 300,000 a year by 2025 will be much more challenging for planners and housebuilders alike. 

At the heart of this challenge is the need to bring forward strategic land into ready-to-develop plots. This will require forward investment in acquisition, planning and enabling infrastructure.

There are many barriers to increasing the supply of housing, with lengthy planning processes, slow build rates and a lack of diversity in the housebuilding industry blamed for the problem in the 2017 housing white paper. Of course, the challenge of housing is not only about volume; it is also about the delivery of sustainable living communities, requiring jobs, transport and leisure and social amenities as well as a balance of tenures to deliver the optimum social value.

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