Housing white paper aims to boost building
Her Majesty's Government has published its white paper on housing, which aims to 'fix the broken housing market'.
Launched by Communities Secretary the Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP, the paper sets out new measures for the housing market, which include:
- Consultations on a standardised method for calculating current and future demand;
- Using land more efficiently and at higher densities;
- Speeding up building by reducing the times for completion notices;
- Action to help smaller independent designers and builders;
- Promoting brownfield and out-of-use development.
Commenting on the proposals, CIAT President Gary Mees said 'The white paper appears to be good news for both home builders and home buyers. Of particular interest to CIAT is the £3billion Home Building Fund, which aims to diversify the market by enabling smaller design and build companies to get involved. Currently around 60% of new homes are built by 10 companies.
'The paper also aims to protect the Green Belt and "radically increase brownfield development and to bring life back to abandoned sites", as well as offering incentives to refurbish long-term empty properties. This makes the paper of interest not only to members involved in new builds but also those in retrofitting and conservation.
'A lot more needs to be done however, and this policy is just playing with the existing build programme. A concerted government funded social housing and low-cost ownership programme is required together with a realistic infrastructure programme.'
A White Paper is the last stage of a legislative proposal before it is put before Parliament as a Bill. To read more about the proposals, click here.