industry news 11 HELP TO BUY
country building. The Housing Growth Partnership will act as a
Government support for small builders S
mall builders will benefit from a £100 million cash boost to recognise and support their important role in keeping the
dedicated initiative that will invest alongside smaller builders in new developments, providing money to support their businesses, help get workers onto sites and increasing housing supply. The Partnership will also establish a network
of builders, including experienced developers, who will act as mentors and advisers to those looking to expand and grow their businesses. In the last 25 years, the number of firms build-
ing between 1 and 100 units a year has fallen from over 12,000 to fewer than 3,000. The latest housebuilding figures show starts
have more than doubled since those seen during the same period in 2009 – with both starts and completions rising in the past year and the num- ber of homes granted planning permission are at the highest annual total for eight years. Housing Growth Partnership will help small
builders to play their part in growth in home building numbers. The government has matched a £50 million
investment from Lloyds Banking Group to create the £100 million Housing Growth Partnership, which will be used to help smaller builders to invest in new projects and develop their
PLANNING
Quarter of a million homes granted planning permission
T
he numbers of homes granted planning permission are now higher than before the 2008 economic crash, latest
figures show. In the year to March, councils across England
granted permission for 261,000 new homes. Brandon Lewis said: “The previous system of
top-down targets built nothing but resentment. Our reforms, a key part of our long-term eco- nomic plan, have changed that. “It means that permissions have been granted
on 261,000 homes in the year to March – higher than the pre-recession peak in 2007 – while housing starts are more than double what they were six years ago. “And with the Housing Bill set to include measures to bring forward brownfield sites, we’re
determined that we will keep the country build- ing while protecting the green belt.”
Local support for housebuilding soars
The 2008 crash devastated the housebuilding industry, and led to the loss of a quarter of a million construction jobs. That’s why the government has placed
housebuilding at the heart of its long-term eco- nomic plan. This includes radical reforms to put power
directly into the hands of local people over the future development of their area, by putting local plans at the heart of the planning system. Already, 64 per cent of councils have adopted
a local plan – compared to just 17 per cent in May 2010. It means local support for housebuilding has
doubled in the last 4 years, from 28 per cent in 2010 to 56 per cent now, while opposition to local housebuilding has more than halved during the same period. The forthcoming Housing Bill will go further,
and will include measures to create a new register of brownfield land to help fast-track the con- struction of new homes on previously-used sites near existing communities. With more than 1,500 communities across the
country having applied to have their neighbour- hood plan designated, the Bill will also include measures to streamline and speed up the process so even more areas can follow suit.
respond online at
www.hbdonline.co.uk
businesses, allowing them to recruit and train skilled workers and become more competitive in their local area. The partnership expects to make around 50
investments, with the aim to provide an addi- tional 2,000 homes. Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said: “The
2008 economic crash devastated our army of small builders, with delivery falling from 44,000 homes to just 18,000 – seven years on, compa- nies are getting back on their feet but we’re determined to give them all the help they need. Access to finance is one of the biggest chal-
lenges they face – so that’s why today I’m launching this £100 million commitment which will help our smaller builders fund new projects, expand their businesses, create more jobs and build more homes. “With housing starts at a seven-year high and
climbing and homes granted planning permis- sion at 261,000 – the highest since 2007, this work will ensure we maintain this momentum and keep the country building. Group Director and Chief Executive,
Commercial Banking, Lloyds Banking Group, Andrew Bester said: “The challenge of housing supply and affordability is one of the biggest issues facing Britain today, so we at Lloyds Banking Group welcome the government’s announcement of support for the Housing
Growth Partnership, which will double the capa- bility to support SME house builders. It will provide SME house builders with much needed equity to support residential development proj- ects, to stimulate growth in their businesses and facilitate access to conventional property devel- opment finance. “We believe building both a greater quantity
and mix of homes will help Britain prosper and this partnership will help address the issue of housing supply in the UK. Industry leaders were quick to comment on
the initiative with Chief Executive of Federation of Master Builders, Brian Berry saying: “There has been a sharp decline in the numbers and out- put of SME house builders over the past 8 years. One of the biggest obstacles these firms have faced is a severe difficulty in accessing finance. Without adequate access to finance they cannot bring forward the number of new homes they would otherwise. “The new Housing Growth Partnership will
directly help to address this issue and the addi- tional £50 million greatly increases the scale of what can be achieved. We commend Lloyds Banking Group and the government on their trailblazing approach and we hope this marks a real turning point in the fight to provide ade- quate finance to the SME house building sector.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68