Phillip Hammond’s Budget housing plan ‘isn’t going to make a difference’, say home builders
Representatives from multiple groups relayed worries that the Government's £15billion package will fail to reach its target of 300,000 new homes
PHILIP Hammond’s housing package was slammed yesterday as a failure by home builders – who said his measures won’t make “a fundamental difference”.
National Housing Federation chief David Orr said the £15billion package to reach the Government’s target of 300,000 a year isn’t bold enough.
He said the Government’s target “feels like an aspirational target at the moment” and said the measures announced in the Budget would only spur a “relatively small growth” in new-builds.
The Chancellor’s package of reforms included a stamp duty cut for first-time buyers, planning reforms, buying up brown field land to build on, and training up more brickies.
But Mr Orr told the Commons Treasury committee yesterday: “The direction of travel is right but none of it is bold enough.”
He said he was sceptical ministers would reach this level because it has been 40 years since we did.
Local Government Association boss Nick Forbes said the 300,000 a year target was only reached because councils were building four in ten new homes.
And he said the target must be matched with an equal goal to build new transport links, hospitals and schools to support new communities around the flood of new builds.
Mr Forbes said: “One of the issues we face is around infrastructure because you can’t just simply build new homes without thinking about access to them, transport arrangements, healthcare, education – all of the issues that support the development of new communities.”
Speaking at the same committee Mr Orr said: “There are a range of useful measures in the Budget, which will have a combined effect of seeing some relatively small growth in the number of homes built.
“I think it was quite striking that the Office for Budget Responsibility’s assessment of the delivery of new homes post the Budget was precisely the same as pre-Budget.
“Their assessment is that it isn’t going to make a difference.”
Meanwhile official figures yesterday revealed a moderate rise in the number of affordable houses built last year – from 32,630 to 41,530.