The building industry in England and Wales needs to increase the construction of new homes by almost 82,000 per year to meet Government target of 300,000 per year by the mid 2020s.
This will deliver a huge boost to the British economy raising building activity by 74% in the last four years. This is the information given by planning and development consultancy Lichfields for the Home Builders Federation (HBF).
The house building industry in England and Wales is now worth £38 billion a year and the growth in the industry imeans more affordable homes being built and money being invested in land for new homes. However it is falling short of the target as things stand now.
The provision for affordable housing has almost doubled from the £2.3 billion recorded in the last analysis done by the firm in 2015.
But more needs to be done; The report points out that last year net additional houses built across England and Wales totalled just over 224,000, or approximately 218,400 excluding conversions. The scale of building has increased over the last few years, but is still falling short of the 300,000 per annum target by around 81,600 each year.
Also, 2015 many building companies were still suffering effects of the financial crisis and recession but for many the outlook has much improved and the overall rate of houses built has been increasing year on year.
‘Across both England and Wales, house building has become even more of a policy priority for the Government, recognising that for 30 or 40 years the supply of new homes has simply been too low. The analysis demonstrates the significant contribution that house building makes to the economy and its ability to drive economic growth and maintain prosperous economies, as well as providing much needed housing to support sustainable communities,’ the report concludes.
Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the HBF said that the contribution needs to be built on. ‘The house building industry is a massive driver of the UK economy and makes a huge contribution to communities across the country. While delivering much needed new homes of all tenures, house builders are quietly creating and sustaining jobs, generating receipts for the exchequer and boosting investment in infrastructure and amenities in villages, towns and cities,’
‘As well as becoming ever more reliant on private builders to deliver affordable housing through planning agreements, vast sums are ploughed into new roads, schools and community facilities every year. The unprecedented increases in housing supply in recent years have delivered significant benefits for the UK and the industry is investing in more land and people to enable it to go further and build more.
He also explained ‘Delivering more homes will not only help solve our acute housing crisis, but also provide a further boost to communities and economies up and down the country.”
