Berkeley announces return to land market after NPPF reform

Berkeley Homes has announced plans to return to the land market after being absent for more than two and a half years.

The housebuilder’s chief executive Rob Perrins presented the move as a response to the government’s decision to revise the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

Housing secretary Angela Rayner announced the changes, which included the re-introduction of mandatory housing targets, on Wednesday afternoon.

A new method calculating housing need will result in combined annual housebuilding targets at a national level rising from 300,000 homes to 370,000.

“Ministers have challenged industry to do more and Berkeley is determined to play our full part,” said Perrins.

“We have therefore today laid out plans for how we can start an additional 10,000 private and affordable homes over the next five years. 

>> Read more: Berkeley to launch 4,000-home build-to-rent management business as annual profit falls 

“These plans include accelerating work on our current long-term sites, securing new deliverable planning permissions, investing over £1bn into a new 4,000 home Build to Rent programme, and returning to the land market having not bought a new site for more than 2½ years.”

Berkeley’s plan to create a build-to-rent developer was announced last month alongside its annual results.