Housing crisis: Government cheer while industry fears

Housing crisis: Government cheer while industry fears



Housing Minister Brandon Lewis has welcomed the latest housebuilding figures which show a surge in the number built across the UK .


Housing Minister Brandon Lewis has welcomed the latest housebuilding figures which show a surge in the number built across the UK.

However, the figures were met with concern by the National Housing Federation which believes the figures are still way behind the widely accepted target.

Figures revealed by the NHBC showed that over 40,000 homes were started between January and March this year, a 31 per cent increase on the previous quarter and 136 per cent higher than Q1 of 2009.

Winchester has seen a 120 per cent increase in housebuilding over the year while in Manchester it has increased by 84 per cent.

Welcoming the highest number of housing starts since 2007, Brandon Lewis said housebuilding was at the heart of their plan for recovery.

“We’re turning around an industry that was devastated and getting the country building again,” said Brandon.

“Today’s figures show these efforts are reaping results, with housebuilding starts having more than doubled since 2009, and completions at their highest for nearly 6 years.”

“It is vital we maintain this momentum, getting workers back on sites and homes built - giving more people the chance to own their own home.”

However, while Brandon Lewis welcomed the news that 125,110 homes had been completed between April 2014 and March 2015, the National Housing Federation said this was 119,890 homes short of the widely accepted 245,000 homes per year needed to keep up with demand.

“We have a far reaching housing crisis and at its heart is the reality that not nearly enough homes have been built for a generation or more,” said Henry Gregg, assistant director of campaigns and communication at the National Housing Federation.

“We need urgent action to get more housing of all types built.  Families and young people across the country are crying out for genuinely affordable homes they can rent long term and shared ownership homes to help them on the housing ladder.

“Housing associations are building, but they need a bold government to play its part too and lead the 2way for new homes.  

“Our new Government has committed to end the housing crisis within a generation, now it must free up land and provide proper investment to make that happen.”

The figures released by the NHBC revealed that of the 40,281 new homes registered only 9,590 were from the public sector.

Head of Communications at Omni Capital, Bob Sturges, believed it was understandable that politicians would want to trumpet news which appeared to suggest Government policy was working.

“While the positive movement in the figures is to be welcomed, it seems a bit rich to use 2009 as a key comparison point,” said Bob.

“This was a year in which the housebuilding market was flat on its back after the financial crisis, so any point thereafter is bound to look good!

“As standalone statistics, the figures announced yesterday suggest we're moving in the right direction.

“However, set in context that each year we need to build 220,000 new homes just to keep pace with demand there is still clearly much to do. And coming on the same day of news that net immigration to the UK has soared to 318,000, it appears the Minister for Housing & Planning has his work cut out."

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) said although the figures were a boost to the industry, the figures needed to be put into context.

“We need to build 240,000 homes a year just to keep pace with demand, never mind addressing the backlog created by years of reduced house building,” said Brian.

“We’re calling on government to work with us to reach a target of 200,000 new homes per year by 2020 and to do this, we need to empower small house builders.

“If we’re to sufficiently increase house building, we can’t rely on large house builders alone – we need to remove barriers to small local builders and make sure they’re well placed to do their bit.

“The major focus for us over the coming years will be to work with government on improving access to finance for small firms and ensure more small sites are made available for small housing developments.”

 



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