10 COMMENT
A TOUGHYEAR FOR SME BUILDERS
Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders
Brian Berry of the Federation ofMaster Builders (FMB), takes a look at the barriers SME housebuilders have overcome in 2021, and the challenges that face themmoving forwards.
local housebuilders have tackled the pandemic head on. I should have expected no less as they’ve always been resilient in the face of adversity. It was 80 years ago that a small group of builders came together to create the Federation of Master Builder (FMB) as a means to give them a strong voice to win the contracts to repair and rebuild London’s homes from the rubble left by the Blitz. SME builders, despite their long-running resilience, face market barriers. Small, local housebuilders have been producing fewer and fewer homes for some decades. In the 1980s, 40% of new housing stock was delivered by SME housebuilders. Now only 12% of new build homes are delivered by them. This ultimately means the diversity of housing has dropped and that new homes often aren’t reflective of their local area. I completely
T
he industry closes out another year with enquiries still high and workloads doing well, and it appears that the nation’s
acknowledge that large scale developers play an important role. But, if the barriers for SME builders are lifted, we will see the delivery of a wider range of better-quality homes.
THEMAJOR BARRIERS FOR SME HOUSEBUILDERS Significant barriers remain for SME builders to start to climb back from the 12% of new housing stock delivery they sit at today. According to the FMB’s latest House Builders’ Survey 2021, lack of available land affected 63% of SME builders. Small housebuilders use small, underutilised sites, but are often left out of local plans. Many builders have reported being aware of sites ripe for organic develop- ment, especially on the edge of settlements. What we need to see is the relevant authorities working together with industry, to properly identify these sites and ensure they are included in local plans. Closely following site availability as a barrier
SMALL BUILDERS USE SMALL, UNDER- UTILISED SITES, BUT AREOFTEN LEFTOUTOF LOCAL PLANS
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