“We must also ensure that we strive to reinvigorate town and city centres to provide residents with happy and fulfilling places to live and not just create reams of poorly proportioned apartments with little in the way of amenities nearby,” he implored.

DFT recently caught up with Richard to find out his views on opportunities in the development finance market this year and the government’s plans to improve the housing sector.

Read the full interview, below.

As an SME developer, how did you handle the hurdles of 2020 and how has this set you up for this year? 

Having launched Chartfield Homes in May 2019, the many challenges of 2020 were far from ideal — we have however secured a number of new sites throughout this period and are working on other exciting prospects. We have kept active, talking to people and remain fully focused on delivering new opportunities and planning consents. 

Progressing sites through the planning process has been very difficult, with many LPAs that we deal with, as well as highway authorities, taking significantly longer to process applications.

Chartfield Homes aims to move away from repetitive themes, layouts, fixtures and fittings that you see with volume housebuilders. Why do you think the bespoke element will be increasingly popular post-pandemic? 

Following the last financial crisis, large housebuilders have pursued ever greater volume and standardisation, placing greater importance on lower-build costs and speed of build, at the expense of designing and building homes that fit people’s ever-evolving lifestyles. This has created a situation where buyer choice is limited and the quality is poor. We believe that buyers recognise good design and well-built homes that fit their style of living and are prepared to pay a premium for this type of home.

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You have a background in planning. What are your thoughts on the government’s planning reforms last year, including changes to permitted development rights (PDR)?

The permitted development changes that were introduced will undoubtedly deliver homes, but we need to make sure that they are suitably proportioned and located. We must also ensure that we strive to reinvigorate town and city centres to provide residents with happy and fulfilling places to live, and not just create reams of poorly proportioned apartments with little in the way of amenities nearby.

You recently secured a JV agreement with an investor who will be funding the planning journey for your upcoming sites. What does the funding landscape look like currently for developers with land pre-planning?

The right sites in the right locations with the right strategy behind them will always be attractive. Chartfield are deliberately concentrating on sites that are located in quality areas that allow us to design individual and attractive homes that buyers are prepared to pay a premium for.

Investors recognise the importance of the right fundamentals when assessing risk versus reward and the ability of the team to deliver a successful and profitable outcome. 

Considering the ongoing uncertainty as a result of the pandemic, how are you looking to source feasible land opportunities for development in 2021?

We see a great deal of opportunity going forward, as we believe larger housebuilders are concentrating on much larger sites, reluctant to take planning risk and, in some cases, under-resourced. Because of this, we see a great opportunity for Chartfield as a well-resourced SME developer to benefit.

We are very actively working with our vast network of contacts to identify further opportunities and ensuring that we provide fast and reliable feedback to landowners that is focused on delivering a successful and valuable outcome.