Page 6 of 6                                                                                                  BALI Briefing

Introduction

Formed in 1972, the British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) represents the interests of approximately 1800 member businesses. Members include landscape contractors, suppliers, garden designers, arboriculturists, training providers, students and other related professionals.

Of these, we support over 950 Accredited members. We inspire those businesses to be leaders of an environmentally, ethically and commercially sustainable landscape industry. Accredited members are vetted to ensure the highest standards of workmanship, skill and health and safety practices. BALI is submitting a response to advocate for the importance of high quality and accredited landscaping in new towns developments as a vital element of the environmental and social needs of new towns.

Response

1.What do you anticipate will be most significant impact(s) of the Government’s proposed new towns?

First and foremost, the proposed new towns could help meet the growing demand for housing in England and lower its cost, but they could also have much wider economic impacts. As the New Towns Taskforce says, new towns could unlock potential economic growth by improving labour mobility and creating job opportunities. And we believe that the landscaping industries could be at the heart of this growth, from the design phase of new developments through to the construction phase and ongoing maintenance. However, our members would need supportive business policy and skilled workers to help meet the greater demand for their services, and the Government has a major role to play here. For example, the Chancellor recently announced a training initiative for the construction sector to help build new homes, but a similar focus is needed for the closely related – yet often distinct – landscaping sector.

The proposed new towns could also have a significant, positive impact on the natural and built environments, if they are well designed, constructed, maintained, and managed. According to the recent land use consultation, new homes are likely to be responsible for a relatively small amount of change in land use going forward, with green ambitions driving much more. However, with the advent of biodiversity net gain and the introduction of further policies, new developments could play an equally important role in hitting environmental targets. One potential further policy could be to introduce a specific target around access to green space in England, which could be based on Defra’s new data on accessibility. Again, we believe that our members could play a major role in delivering the green spaces associated with new towns, but the Government would need to put supportive policy in place.

   a. Over what timescale do you expect this(/these) to be realised?

From a landscaping perspective, we believe that the economic impacts of the proposed new towns could be realised from the earliest stages of development and last in perpetuity. For instance, landscape architects may be asked to assist with designing new towns from conception, with turfing companies contracted to create private and public lawns at construction. Once constructed, residents of new towns may then ask landscapers to design, maintain, and manage gardens, while paying grounds maintenance companies to look after shared spaces through a service charge. In this way, the landscaping sector is quite unique in holding the potential to deliver the economic benefits of new towns over all timescales, given the right policy support from the Government.

Depending on the former land use, the environmental impacts of new towns may take longer to be realised, but planning for them at an early stage would be key. Again, this is where landscape architects and garden designers can come to the fore, be it designing sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) to manage water or choosing plants to increase biodiversity. Then, with support from housebuilders, landscapers can help manage soils during construction to avoid compaction and boost plant health. Longer-term, grounds maintenance companies can help manage communal areas for people and wildlife, calling on approaches like integrated pest management.

Further, it is essential that installation of public green space is undertaken to the highest standards. BALI accredited contractors are at the leading edge of the industry and so their input into this process will be vital to ensuring that the highest standards are met. This supports the governments ambitions to deliver new towns that contribute to wellbeing, sustainability, and longevity. Government must commit to earmarking funding to ensure that landscapes are a fundamental part of any new town design and not just an afterthought.

2. How do the proposed new towns and expanded settlements differ from previous initiatives over the last 80 years?

Whilst the primary drivers are the same, new towns and expanded settlements are now expected to deliver far more now than in the past. As discussed above, these new developments help to meet demand for housing and boost economic growth, but they can also help to meet a range of environmental and social objectives. Such objectives have rapidly climbed up the political agenda over the last 80 years and range from protecting water quality and improving biodiversity to allowing recreation and green social prescribing. The common factor in delivering these objectives is well-designed, -constructed, and -maintained green infrastructure, which our members and the wider landscaping industry want to deliver.

3. What, if any, are the barriers to the development of good quality new towns?

Landscaping industries stand ready to help with the development of good quality new towns, but they need supportive business policy. Some of the recent changes in tax policy, particularly the increase in employer national insurance contributions, and aspects of the Employment Rights Bill will make it more difficult for our members to meet existing and future demand for their services. Further, the landscaping sector requires long-term certainty of forward procurement and forward contracting to ensure that businesses have the confidence to invest. This must be delivered through ringfenced funds for landscaping and green spaces in development contracts to ensure that landscaping services are able to deliver the most impactful environmental, social and economic benefits for the new towns.

However, we recognise the current fiscal challenges, as well as the need to strike a balance between business performance and employee rights, so we are calling for further policies to help mitigate the impact on our sector. As above, we believe that the Government must take a similar approach to training in landscaping as it has done in construction, given the similar challenges and interdependence in the sectors.

4. What current policy channels exist to delivery new towns, and are they sufficient? If insufficient, what policy changes would facilitate their development?

No comment.

5. What do you think future modules in our inquiry should examine when considering what makes a successful new town?

We support the themes for future consideration shared in the call for evidence, all of which are relevant to the landscaping sector, but would propose a few more. As detailed in our response to question 3, the delivery of environmental benefits has become a major objective of new developments. The New Towns Taskforce has also given the creation of environmentally resilient places as one of its five aims of the new towns programme. Therefore, we believe there is a need for the Committee to focus on environmental delivery and the role of green infrastructure in future modules. In addition, we believe there is a need to consider the management of new towns once they have been constructed, specifically the maintenance and management of green infrastructure and shared spaces.

The Role of Government

6. What should be the respective roles and responsibilities of local and regional government in the delivery of new towns?

Through devolution and the increased powers being awarded to local authorities, local government can support the development of new towns that are best suited to the needs of their local communities. This includes the procurement of BALI accredited landscaping services for the new towns to ensure a high environmental and quality standard, from design to delivery of landscaping projects. Working with BALI accredited landscaping businesses can support any gaps in local authority capacity for impactful design and delivery of greenspaces and infrastructure.

7. How can central Government support the planning and delivery of new towns?

As detailed above, central government can support the planning and delivery of new towns by putting supportive business policy in place and addressing the skills shortage in the landscaping sector, as well as encouraging BALI accredited procurement contracts.

8. What is the most effective economic model for building and managing a new town?

No comment.

9. What role should community engagement play in developing and planning new towns?

No comment.

Strategic Master Planning

10. What elements should be prioritised in the strategic master planning of new towns?

We believe that the strategic master planning of new towns should prioritise the landscape, both in which the town sits and within the town itself. To fulfil the potential of landscaping within a new development, it must be sympathetic to the landscape which surrounds it as well as the underlying geology. This approach could mean physically connecting existing and new green infrastructure, helping to manage water at the catchment scale, or ensuring complimentary habitats and planting. Of course, such efforts could help deliver a range of environmental and social benefits, from helping to meet biodiversity targets and reducing flood risk to creating strong communities and happy residents.

a. In what ways can master plans support the long-term economic viability of new towns?

As set out in response to question 1a, designing private and public green spaces into new towns from the outset would create an indefinite demand for maintenance services, be it gardeners or grounds maintenance companies.

11. On what basis, and using what metrics, should the location and size of new be decided?

No comment.

b. In which types of locations and in which parts of the country would you prioritise the development of new towns and why?

No comment.

12. To what extent can the proposed new towns act as a model for general housing development across the UK?

Many, if not all, of our responses to this call for evidence are as applicable to general housing development as they are to new towns. The landscaping industry and associated services are vital to housing developments, not only through the prevision of services, but also through the creation of neighbourhoods with a sense of community and ownership which positively contributes to the area.

Legalities, Economics, & Skills

13. What long-term support will new towns need to ensure that their delivery is efficient and successful?

As detailed above, the Government can help ensure the delivery of new towns is efficient and successful by putting supportive business policy in place and addressing the skills shortage in the landscaping sector.

14. Does the construction sector have sufficient capacity and skills to deliver new towns?

Research undertaken in 2019 by Pye Tait for the British Association of Landscape Industries identified a growing skills and labour gap in the landscaping sector.  This research showed that increased demand was anticipated for a wide range of skills including design, environmental awareness, bio-diversity knowledge, water management, digital skills – at all levels. Further, there is a relatively low average number of apprentices per business, which exacerbates the labour shortage. A challenge which is unique to the landscape industry is the range of skills required across the breadth of industry, from hardscaping and construction skills to horticultural and architectural and engineering skills. This makes it hard to assess the full scale of the skills and labour shortages as the range is not easily classified to one industry.

The landscaping sector, which includes areas of construction and hardscaping requires sufficient skills and training investment in order to increase capacity to achieve the government’s ambitions of delivering new towns and houses. This labour government has ambitions to deliver 1.5 million new homes by 2029, which will put pressure on the landscaping and construction sectors’ workforce.
 

1. If not, what should be done to ensure that it is, and over what timeframe can capacity be made?

Skills and training support is crucial for increasing capacity and skills across the landscaping and construction sectors. More support for vocation-based learning such as apprenticeships is needed to fill these gaps. Land-based colleges are often underfunded and struggle to get and retain lecturers and staff, which in turn reduces offerings and opportunities for students.

In our response to the recent consultation on post 16 education, BALI stressed the importance that the industry places on practical, vocational courses – many of which have been scheduled to have funding removed as they have cross over content with new T-Levels. BALI does not believe that this is an appropriate way forward to deliver the skills needs of the industry and so, again, must stress the need to maintain the funding for these practical, industry focussed qualifications beyond the current moratorium.

We must also stress that FE colleges should not be forgotten as an important and valued part of the education landscape. They face many of the challenges in staff retention and pay faced by schools but have, so far, been largely overlooked in funding solutions put forward by government.

Further, schools at the primary and secondary levels should have more support for introducing students to career opportunities such as landscaping or construction. Getting young people interested in the sector is crucial to addressing the growing skills and labour gap in the industry.

2. Is there sufficient capacity in the English workforce?

The need for a landscaping workforce will continue to grow as government continues to increase housing and projects including new town developments. Future-proofing the sector through increased training and opportunities is vital to ensuring that there will be sufficient capacity to deliver these projects.

BALI’s research, conducted as part of the wider Environmental Horticulture Group, has identified that the landscaping and environmental horticulture industry is growing. Research has suggested that the industry will support over 750,000 jobs by 2030, an increase from 674,200 in 2019. This includes 39,000 directly employed by the sector. This is likely to increase further as a result of the New Towns proposals as the Environmental Horticulture sector is asked to deliver new public green spaces, urban infrastructure, and private gardens. It is a challenge it is willing to meet but must be ably supported by government to ensure that appropriate finding and resource is made available to the FE sector so that it can deliver the skills and training necessary.

Supporting, representing, and accrediting the landscape industry

Although every effort has been

made to ensure accuracy, neither                                                                         

BALI nor the author can accept             

liability for errors and or omissions.