Earlier this week, housing secretary Steve Reed spoke at the Home Builders Federation conference, encouraging the industry to take the initiative
Steve Reed was asked questions by industry leaders after his speech regarding house-building difficulties.
The housing secretary’s speech was a message of positive encouragement, but left a lot to be desired for some.
“Build, baby build” reasserts Reed
Questions were asked of Reed regarding:
• The lack of government support for first-time buyers – the first time in more than 60 years that no home ownership assistance is available.
• The forthcoming introduction of a new tax on new homes with the Building Safety Levy’s implementation now just six months away, adding thousands of pounds to the cost of building each new home.
• Ongoing difficulties and delays in the planning process.
• The lack of support for SME home builders in the current tax and regulatory environment, threatening small site viability.
In the speech, Reed went over some of the legislation changes introduced in his time as housing secretary, and sums up with a message to “get Britain building.”
The housing secretary said: “..Treat this as a call to arms – get those applications in, get shovels in the ground, and together, we will build, baby build.
“I want to finish with a quote from Harold Macmillan, who governed during the prosperity that followed the house building boom of the late 1940s.
“The luxuries of the rich,” he said, “have become the necessities of the poor.”
“So, ask yourselves this – if we get this right, if private developers like you can get Britain building, like the state did back then, what luxuries of today could become the necessities of tomorrow?
“The future we dream of as a country – of national renewal, stronger public services, pride in the places that we call home, the values we believe in – of everyone having enough to get by, and everywhere having the opportunities that they deserve…
“These are only possible if we build homes and grow the economy. The same applies to the dreams of families up and down Britain.
“Just remember that you are not just building homes, you’re building hope. Hope of being able to move out of Mum and Dad’s. Hope for a garden for the kids to play. Hope for a future without being moved on from one B&B to another.
“It’s such a fantastic thing to dedicate your working life to achieving. So together, let’s do this, let’s get Britain building.”
Not everyone at the conference was impressed
Other speakers then talked about different aspects and difficulties that the industry faces, including viability issues, challenges to the housing association sector, and issues posed by the housing market.
More information about speaker presentations can be found here.
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