Land, Planning, and Viability: The Hidden Challenges of Building Homes with Michael Keaveny
Inside Property DevelopmentShow Notes
DESCRIPTION
In this episode, Paul is joined by Michael Keaveny, Director of Land and Development at Grainger PLC, whose career spans decades in the property development sector, from hands-on project management to leading major urban regeneration projects.
Together, they discuss the realities facing today’s property developers, including exploring why SME developers are disappearing, the mounting challenges of viability, and the complex economics behind affordable and social housing. Mike and Paul unpack the myths around land banking, reveal the true impact of planning delays, and discuss why the current system often fails to deliver the homes the UK needs.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Developers are not land banking, they are building on it as fast as the market can absorb.
The biggest issue in property development is viability. Balancing land costs, construction expenses, affordable housing requirements, and market values is not possible for many sites.
Delivering affordable and social housing is rarely viable without the provision of significant subsidies. Even when the land is provided for free.
High affordable housing targets can make projects unviable, especially for smaller sites. Flexibility and realistic expectations are needed to ensure developments can proceed.
Developers are not the villains - most want to build quality homes and contribute to communities, but are hampered by systemic challenges.
The loss of SME developers reduces industry capacity, innovation, and competition, making it harder to meet national housing targets and address the housing crisis.
BEST MOMENTS
“No developer, especially not large house builders, could possibly buy a site and then sit on it and hope the value of the land goes up. It’s absolute rubbish.”
“Viability is the biggest issue in development. If it doesn’t stack up, it doesn’t get built…simple as that.”
“If you want the housing crisis solved, you need to start listening to the people that are trying to solve it.”
“Affordable housing is a land value tax. Every single affordable home has a negative land value attached to it.”
ABOUT THE HOST
Paul Higgs is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with 40+ years' experience in land, planning and development and a 100% success track record in winning planning consents.
Paul undertook his first refurb project when he was just 17 and then worked his way up from labouring on building sites to becoming Head of Land for renowned plc housebuilder, Barratt Developments. He managed to escape the corporate world in 2002 to set up what is now a multi-million-pound, award-winning property development company, Millbank Group.
In 2013 Paul founded the Millbank Land Academy, the UK’s first training company dedicated to property development; to teach established and aspiring developers the insider secrets the big housebuilders don’t want you to know!
Paul is also a founding investor and former board director of the industry-leading PropTech Co, LandTech, and has lectured on Advanced Development Valuations on the MSc Property Development at London South Bank University.
CONTACT METHOD
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-higgs
Millbank Land Academy: https://www.millbanklandacademy.co.uk
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paulhiggsofficial
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@InsidePropertyDevelopment
This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
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