The new housing secretary has made it clear that the current government is still committed to delivering the vaunted 1.5m new homes target
The UK housing target of building 1.5m homes by 2029 is still very much alive, the new housing secretary has insisted.
Speaking at a housing development in Bedfordshire, Steve Reed sough to reassure people that the target has not been forgotten after Angela Rayner’s resignation.
Reed’s statement is one of confidence
Speaking to reporters, Reed announced plans for an acceleration package, and said: “It’s what we’re going to do.
“We’ll do it by working in partnership with the developers and with the builders,” he said.
“My job is to get every barrier out of the way that is stopping that construction going ahead.
“I don’t want the developers dragging their feet. They don’t want to drag their feet – it’s their business.
“They make money from going ahead with construction. I’m going to work in partnership with the developers but there will be sanctions if the building doesn’t go ahead at pace and at scale.”
The industry encourages Reed to keep up momentum
Since his appointment on 5 September, several major industry-representative bodies have voiced their support of the new housing secretary.
This includes the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) who released a statement saying: “Housing and the built environment are rightly central to the UK’s growth agenda, and it is essential that momentum for reform continues to unlock construction and give the sector confidence.”
The Federation of Master Builders also released a statement saying: “The former Housing Secretary made several high-profile announcements aimed at getting Britain building again, but the sad fact is that the number of new homes has fallen short of the 300,000 that are needed each year. Support for first time buyers is non-existent and the proposed planning reforms to speed up development have yet to be materialise.
“There are now added fears that proposed reforms to the landfill tax could add even more cost to building homes, thereby hampering attempts to grow the housing market. Any additional cost on delivering new homes would be a backwards step when we need more, not fewer, homes to be built.”
Steve Reed possesses some experience working with housing, having held the brief for shadow housing in 2021, and having acted as leader of Lambeth Council between 2006-2012, working on several housing initiatives.
Needless to say, the industry will be watching Reed’s work with interest.
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