Shelter calls for £8 billion housebuilding boost

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Thursday, 21, Aug 2008 12:00

SHELTER today called on the Government to immediately inject £8 billion into building new homes to help kick start the flagging housebuilding industry.

Ministers have already set aside £8 billion to be spent over the next three years to build more than 100,000 social homes.

But Shelter chief executive Adam Sampson says there would be huge benefits for the economy if ministers spent the majority of the cash building the much-needed homes over the next year.

This quarter has seen an 18 per cent fall in the number of new social housebuilding completions on the last quarter. If this trend continues, the Government would fail to meet its affordable housing delivery target of 70,000 homes per year to 2010/11.

The figures also show a 9 per cent fall in the number of new houses overall, meaning at this level of building the Government would not meet its target of 240,000 homes over the next three years.

Mr Sampson said: “These figures show that if housebuilding continues at this slow pace the Government will not meet its target to build 70,000 social homes over the next three years, and will fall way behind on its three million homes by 2020 pledge.”

He added: “Spending this £8 billion now rather than over three years makes perfect economic sense. It would give the housebuilding industry a huge boost, would save thousands of jobs, help the economy, deliver more than 100,000 desperately needed homes and allow the Government to meet its social housebuilding targets.

The news comes at a sensitive time for housebuilders. Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Barratt are updating the market on their performance.

Mr Sampson warned: “The Government simply cannot stand by and watch the industry collapse or it could take 10 years for house building in Britain to recover, ruining any chance of first time buyers getting onto the property ladder and destroying the Government’s own promise to build three million new homes by 2020.”

The Shelter chief executive also said ministers should follow the lead of the Scottish Government which has just put in place a number of measures to try to stem the housing crisis, by bringing forward £60 million from 2010/11 to this year and next to boost the number of affordable homes.

ENDS

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