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A LONG AND WINDING ROAD


Brian Berry Chief Executive of the Federation of Master Builders


Brian Berry of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) looks back over what has been a pivotal year for housing, and highlights the challenges and opportunities presented to builders by the new Government’s policies.


WE MUST USE THIS PUSH FOR NEW HOMES AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO RESET THE HOUSING MARKET


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ell, what a bumpy and eventful year 2024 turned out to be! We have had a shock early General Election that caught the Conservative Government by surprise; a landslide victory for the Labour arty the fi rst abour udget in  years the election of a new USA President; and of course, growing geo-political instability. All of these events have impacted housebuilders in one way or another. Now that the new Labour Government has had time to settle in it’s a good opportunity to look at some of the highlights and see what ups and downs they have had for the sector.


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LABOUR’S HOUSING PUSH – THE FIRST FEW MONTHS


abours housing target of . million new homes over fi ve years is to say the least an ambitious goal. Plans to reform the planning system should help to make it easier to build homes and the latest announcement to increase low-cost loan options for house builders is positive. However, for the


Government’s plans to succeed it will be crucial that this money is directed towards those small housebuilders who need it most and can build the homes this country needs. he overnment has also made brownfi eld sites the focus of their plans. This could be a bonus for SME housebuilders who tend to prefer to use smaller, brownfi eld sites, but with ambitions for hefty affordable housing numbers and brownfi eld sites only representing a small percentage of overall land in the country, will the numbers stack up? There was also the much talked about grey belt which is what will be defi ned as previously developed upon green belt land. There was a scramble to understand what this term really meant. The consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) made it a little clearer, although the level of clarity has sparked much debate. Labour also set up a commission to look into building new town, another lofty ambition, which the  has made clear must include smaller housebuilders.


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