UK’s New Year homebuilding announcement welcomed by builders
3 January 2017The UK government’s New Year green light for the construction of thousands of starter homes has been welcomed by the construction sector, but the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has warned that greater challenges lie ahead if the country is to solve its housing crisis.
“It’s great to see the housing minister kick off 2017 by giving the green light to the first starter homes,” said Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB.
“These homes will help some first time buyers get a foot on the housing ladder, and our small house builders are enthusiastic about delivering on that vision, but starter homes will not be a panacea.
“A wider set of measures aimed at increasing the capacity of the house building industry is needed to overturn the long-term under-supply of new homes. Central to this must be getting small and medium-sized builders delivering more new homes.
“For instance, the announcement of 14 ‘garden villages’ and more garden towns needs to be backed up by implementation plans which provide opportunities to SME builders as well as the large companies.
“These are positive messages to start the year with and they show that the government is putting house building at the front and centre of its ambitions for 2017.
"With a Housing White Paper expected in the next few weeks this will be an important year for housing policy and its success or failure will be a key part of the new prime minister’s legacy.”
