Report

One size (doesn’t) fit all by Mark Woodrow COO, Packaged Living

10.6.24 2024

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The UK economy, and social mobility of British people, are held back by the lack of availability of an appropriate range of housing options, according to new research from the free market think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs.

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Shelter is a fundamental need, and the modern requirement of good quality housing to underpin productivity and enable the evolution of people’s lives is THE challenge for all in our housing sector.

For our workforce to be highly productive, they need to have confidence in the housing options available to be able to develop their career and life.

The solution inevitably requires a broad range of housing products—across the ‘stepping stones’ of tenure and catering for diverse demographics, geography, and price points.

For-sale housing produced by the volume housebuilders is an answer to a small part of this conundrum. However, with house prices having risen 73% over the past 10 years, the average first-time buyer’s deposit being £60.7k, and the average time to save for the first deposit averaging 9.6 years, it is not an option for many.

For Packaged Living, and other leading rental living specialists, we need to consider a growing range of rental housing options to help meet this challenge.

Radical thinking with business in mind

Our city was built on radical thinking and also conceived with business in mind. So the starting point for Milton Keynes Development Partnership (MKDP) and Milton Keynes City Council is to think about how our urban core must evolve. It’s an evolution which must be inspired by the same commitment to innovation that first inspired our city’s founders.

We are asking these key questions: what should Central Milton Keynes provide in property terms to continue to attract new high-growth businesses and cater for existing occupiers? What is the housing, leisure, and cultural offer for a tech worker in the next 10 years? How can a tech innovation cluster be developed and nurtured in a digital smart city? How can the city’s iconic grid be reimagined and maximised for mass urban transit?

Cities like Milton Keynes cannot deliver improved productivity in isolation. Turning the productivity dial will require a package of national policy support and both Westminster and Whitehall to understand the links between place, planning, and productivity.

The economic reality is that the UK does not have the finances to create and deliver another Milton Keynes.

One can consider this range of products in terms of urban intensity - each bringing its own bespoke offer, benefits and challenges: 

Ultra-urban - a growing tenure of co-living buildings in city centres. This is ideal for urban dwellers living a short walk from employment and leisure options. Providing a more accessible price point but with a strongly community focused, management curated offer. Packaged Living has been growing its capability in this area over the last twelve months with initial sites progressing through early delivery.

Urban - multi-family (apartments) providing the more traditional city centre living experience. Community-led buildings with a strong amenity offer and a growing range of demographics. Packaged Living has a portfolio of over 3,000 homes of this type located across the top 30 towns and cities in the UK. 

Fringe Urban - garden style townhouses on the edge of towns/cities catering for more families and those requiring larger homes with more space. This product provides a balance of walkable locations to a mix of amenities but with access to the space and benefits of the countryside beyond. This is perfectly illustrated by Packaged Living’s scheme at Merchant’s Yard, Ipswich – transforming a 
brownfield site into community-led three- and four-bedroom rental homes. 

Sub-urban - single family (houses) outside of town centres across the country. A grown-up rental living option with less service requirements but retaining that professionally managed feel. Packaged Living now has over 1,200 homes of this type across the Midlands and South of England providing flexible housing options within good transport links of major employment areas. 

Packaged Living’s range of rental living options is well represented in one of these fast-growing employment hubs, Milton Keynes. The Almere – opened in 2021 and is now voted the best place to live in the South east by Homeviews. A second 
site overlooking Campbell Park is set to start on site later this year. On the edge of the City we have two Single Family Housing schemes at Whitehouse and Shenley Wood both delivering family homes to rent in 2024. 

By unlocking development in this way and looking at the full range of housing typologies we can help to improve social mobility and productivity, whether that be a young person finding it increasingly difficult to afford to live in the city centre, or a family who wish to move for work within a highly constrained housing market.

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Andy Haynes

Partner, Residential Development

Andrew works with developers to help turn proposals into reality, advising on viability and delivery of residential and mixed-use projects.

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