LAST WORD
The last WORD
Will these ideas work? The NHBC’s Ian Davis gives us his opinion on the government’s Housing Strategy
It seems to have been a long time coming and has received some strong media interest along the way, but, in November, the government finally revealed its housing strategy for England. And, for the new homes market at least, it does appear that it really could offer some hope of ‘laying the foundations’ for growth in the housing market.
I
t is no secret that new homes construction has decreased. Between 2005 and 2010 our
own figures show completion volumes have dropped 40 per cent and our latest figures for new home registrations in October show that overall house building numbers have largely stagnated over the past 12 months. 2011 annual year to date figures for all new homes in the UK are just three per cent higher than the same time last year and registrations for affordable homes saw a significant decrease. Any measures, therefore, that
Ian Davis is operations director at the National House Building Council (NHBC).
remove the barriers and open the way for further home building can only be welcomed. Equally, by setting these measures against the backdrop of environmental sustainability in building, the government’s strategy continues its commitment to deliver the Zero Carbon Homes standard for all new homes from 2016. The measures detailed in the
strategy, and further reaffirmed in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, indicate the attention
being paid to the built environment as a vital part of the economy. The launch of a new £400 million ‘Get Britain Building’ investment fund will provide welcome support to smaller and medium sized building firms in need of development finance and should unlock progress on stalled sites which already have planning permission. The additional £500 million ‘Growing Places Fund’ will also allow local areas to invest in the infrastructure that they deem necessary. Likewise, the continued commitment to the ‘New Homes Bonus’ will give local communities the support required to effectively plan their own neighbourhoods. However, it is the industry
support for the new build mortgage indemnity scheme, providing up to 95 per cent loan to value mortgages for new build properties in England - that gets right to the heart of the problem; enabling young people with a desire for home ownership to realise their ambition. Further, with the Green Deal
and commitment of more funding, November proved to be an eventful month for the industry. The Housing Strategy is clearly ambitious, yet we are hopeful that it will prove successful in delivering the hundreds of thousands of homes needed. However, the path to achieving this is not going to be quick or easy, so it will become ever more important for the industry to work
together in striving to achieve it.
BritishBuilder.co.uk | British Builder & Developer | 33
Ian is NHBC's operations director, with board level responsibility for their inspection, engineering, building control and technical and consultancy services, as well as their marketing strategy and regional director group. Ian rejoined NHBC in 2006 after almost 10 years as Director General of the Federation of Master Builders. Ian is a chartered civil engineer, a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration.
For more information, visit
www.nhbc.co.uk.
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