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Interview
The bigger issue is that planning reform does not fully solve the constraints that keep SMEs out of the market, including:
■ Access to development finance that matches the reality of delivery risk and programme risk
■ Land pricing and the ability to compete for sites
■ Labour and contractor shortages, plus volatility in build costs
■ The broader regulatory burden beyond planning, where complexity and delay can still sit elsewhere in the process
So yes, the reforms should help SMEs, and they may make it easier for smaller builders to take decisions with more confidence. But the biggest immediate gains are likely to go to larger developers. A meaningful SME resurgence depends on what happens next on finance, land access and pipeline creation, not planning alone. ■
Andrew Fraser www. assetzcapital. co. uk
Andrew Fraser is Chief Commercial Officer at Assetz Capital. Assetz Capital is one of the leading SME property finance lenders. Since 2013, the company has been working alongside both developers and investors to realise their business goals, through combining their ambition with its own expertise.
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