More ambitious targets needed to help SME house builders
Commenting onBrandon Lewis' announcement on SME house builders,Rico Wojtulewicz, policy advisor at the House Builders Association, said:
The HBA believes that supply needs to more closely match demand and thinks it is laudable that the government has listened to the industry and has proposed a solution. The Housing Growth Partnership (HGP) promises to deliver £100 million for 2,000 homes across the country.
Housing supply has decreased to its lowest levels in decades, as SME house builders struggled during the downturn. Access to finance represents a major road block to SMEs and, consequently, increasing the housing supply.
The HBA always welcomes more government funding for SME house builders and believes that the HGP goes in the right direction, but the government needs to be far more ambitious if we are to build the 250,000 homes needed each year. In addition to funding, greater improvement and clarification over the streamlining of planning, site identification and developers’ contributions would be welcome.
The HBA appreciates the government’s acknowledgement that not enough was being done to support SMEs in the house building sector. We are happy to see further attempts to increase supply by supporting the lifeblood of the British economy: small and medium businesses.
