Labour’s pledge to help small house builders get back into the market to increase supply has been welcomed by the FMB.
Delivering her first keynote address at NHBC’s offices in London, shadow housing minister Emma Reynolds announced Labour’s Build First initiative to create the right environment for an “army” of small builders to help build the homes the country needs. Under Labour’s plans, local authorities would be obliged to include smaller housing plots in their five-year housing plans and allow smaller companies access to public land.
“The key barrier for smaller builders is access to public land,” Reynolds commented. “The government has put too much emphasis on releasing larger pieces of land.”
Reynolds also confirmed Labour’s commitment to building garden cities with the proportion of the new towns to be built by smaller firms and custom builders.
The minister also said: “The current government is in denial about the scale of the housing crisis. But it’s also true that other governments have not done enough to build the homes we need. This is not just about building homes but creating thriving communities.”
Brian Berry, FMB chief executive, said: “Labour’s plans to boost house building by helping small builders enter the housing market is the right step forward. Over the past 25 years small house builders have been squeezed out of the market. In 1988 two-thirds of all new homes were built by SME builders, but that figure now stands at less than a third. This decline has accelerated over the past five years, as large numbers of firms have either gone out of business or have diversified out of building homes altogether.”
"The key barrier for smaller builders is access to public land. The government has put too much emphasis on releasing larger pieces of land."
Emma Reynolds MP
John Slaughter, HBF’s director of external affairs, commented: “HBF supports in principle Labour’s wish to help smaller builders. But this wish will only succeed as part of a wider set of measures to improve land supply and reduce the regulatory burden for housebuilders.
“It’s certainly good news that Labour is making housing an election issue.”
Berry continued: “Any political party serious about tackling the housing crisis needs to get small house builders back into the market. Two barriers are preventing this from happening – lack of access to finance and lack of access to land. Until these two issues are addressed, small builders will not be able to build the number of new homes that are urgently needed to solve the housing crisis.”
Berry concluded: “Housing is rising up the political agenda and will be a key issue during the General Election. Everyone has the right to a decent affordable home, which is why it is encouraging that the Labour Party is actively seeking ways to achieve this. An army of small builders suggested by Labour is exactly what is needed to boost housing supply and help provide more choice in an overpriced and constricted housing market.”
Reynolds added: “Custom build gives power to aspiring buyers and allows a local approach to planning helping to increase design quality and reduce community objections to new homes.”
“Custom build doesn’t mean building the whole home yourself, it can be like choosing a kitchen.
“In a new scheme in Lewisham, the local Labour council is running a custom build scheme that allows the residents to choose the design, select the contractors and specify individual requirements.
“While in Labour run Oldham, the council has bought and cleared the land for a custom build scheme that will deliver homes at 20% less than market value.
“We know that one of the key barriers for small and custom builders is access to land.
“That’s why I am announcing today Build First – a package of measures to assemble an army of smaller firms and custom builders to tackle the housing shortage and help the next generation on to the property ladder.”
