The Only Thing That Brits Hate More Than Potholes… New Homes Forget football, I think the nation’s favourite pastime is objecting to planning applications I believe that 90% of people in the UK can agree that we need new homes, but apparently 90% of that 90% don’t think they need them anywhere near them Here are a snapshot of classic objections: It will ruin the view from my hot tub The site is overdeveloped The site is underdeveloped Bats, badgers and newts might live on the site I won’t like the noise from the builders This area doesn’t need new homes We moved here for peace and quiet And a personal favourite objection on one of my own sites… The overgrown garden of the derelict building is home to wildlife and renovating the property will mean the grass and brambles will get cut so it should stay overgrown and renovation not allowed to happen The truth is, most objections come from fear - fear of change, fear of design and fear of developers who don’t listen I get it, I really do There are some really terrible, unthoughtful and quite ‘offensive’ properties out there But it doesn’t mean all developers are the same We actively engage with locals and planners, tweak designs and aim to create properties that people actually like to live in and next to because, at the end of the day, if they aren’t pleasant it will affect the rate at which we sell or rent them It’s amazing how effective communication can work in your favour with locals If we want better places to live and to be able to cope with the expanding population, we need to build them - not block them So, if you know of land that might be suitable for housing (regardless of local opinion), or even a site with planning, let’s talk

Posted by Sam Bastow at 2025-10-08 08:22:21 UTC