Tue 17 Jun 2008
New homes at 63-year low
The volume of homes being constructed in the UK this year will plummet to its lowest level since 1945, culminating in the loss of around 100,000 construction jobs. The country’s leading housebuilders have confirmed that around 100,000 homes will be completed this year – 70,000 units less than last year.The news comes as a bitter blow to Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s ambitious target of having 240,000 homes constructed annually in order to house 3m new households by 2018.
Mark Clare (pictured), chief executive of Barratt, said: “The small guys have pulled out and the big companies ... are not opening new developments. I think it certainly will be around 100,000, and if there's a further deterioration, it will go under 100,000.”
Alan Cherry, chairman of Countryside Properties, reported that tighter profit margins will also mean that fewer affordable homes could be built.
A fundamental reform of the planning system, which would create an independent planning commission that would fast-track major new infrastructure facilities, has been proposed by the government and will face a commons vote next week.
A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said: “There is a long-term fundamental mismatch between supply and demand... It is therefore essential for housebuilders to base their decisions on the economic fundamentals and longer-term trends. Builders need to ensure they are in the right place when the market picks up.”
However, the proposed plans have been met with opposition from some backbenchers.
Posted by Marc Da-Silva
in Alan Cherry, Barratt Homes, Countryside Properties, Mark Clare, News on Tue 17 Jun 2008
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