Construction industry responds to the Autumn Statement

The Chancellor George Osborne’s Autumn Statement has seen the construction industry react positively but some figures within the sector also expressed disappointment that some measures didn’t go far enough.

The Chancellor’s announcement that the government was to make housebuilding a priority to deal with “the crisis of home ownership” with £7Bn of funding was warmly received.

The housing programme will see a £4Bn investment in the ‘Help to Buy: Shared Ownership’ scheme that will see 135,000 homes built and available to households who earn less than £80,000.

Housing developers will be paid £2.3Bn directly to help first time buyers onto the property ladder by building starter homes. Buyers will receive a 20% discount on properties worth up to £250,000 (£450,000 in London).

£200M will be used deliver 10,00 new homes available with reduced rents for tenants while they save enough money for a deposit. The house will be sold after five years with the tenant given the first option to buy the property.

£400M will go towards creating 8,000 homes built with the elderly and disabled in mind.

There was also a 3% increase in stamp duty for buy to let properties and second homes that will come into effect next year.

Peter Vinden, Managing Director of The Vinden Partnership, commented: “The government has been promising to tackle the housing shortage for a number of years now. At last, it looks like the Chancellor is facing the reality that creating affordable housing must be prioritised with serious investment and policies.

“We have been here before in terms of government pledges on housebuilding but I am encouraged by the housing programme announced today and hope that we will start to see the crisis turn around in the coming months.

Andrew Carpenter, Chief Executive of the Structural Timber Association was also welcoming of the plans, describing the announcement as “positive”. He commented: “The STA is pleased with the positive announcement from the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement of the biggest house building programme in the UK since the 1970s, and a commitment to building 400,000 affordable homes by 2020.

“The STA would now encourage the Government to look at alternative construction methods, such as timber frame, to ensure not only more homes are built but better homes.”

Simon Light, Client Development Director at Arcadis, felt the housing programme whilst a step in the right direction wasn’t far reaching enough. He said: “While stamp duty rises on buy-to-let properties go some way in solving the housing crisis, this review should have gone further in order to address the serious shortfall in house building capacity and targets should have been more ambitious.”

“Today’s government targets are simply not high enough to address the growing need for homes of all types. Simply boosting spend does not solve the viability challenge and unfortunately much more needs to be done to solve this crisis.”

In terms of infrastructure, the Chancellor said the government has spent £61Bn on capital investment over the course this parliament and announced that transport would receive £46.7Bn over the next five years.

Managing Director of the Temple Group, Chris Fry, commented: “Today’s announcements reinforce the strong direction of travel for the UK’s infrastructure renaissance and also provide new impetus to housing supply.  The announcements also provide a fantastic opportunity for infrastructure and housing to be progressed hand in hand at many key locations, an example of sustainable development, which can deliver tangible social and economic benefits.

“An integrated approach has to be more cost effective in the long run and should provide communities with 21st century transport and energy solutions built in.  The trick now will be in how these infrastructure and housing projects are planned and implemented so that they add to the quality, and also the resilience, of our towns and cities”.

The Chancellor also outlined a new apprenticeship levy will come into force in April 2017 that will raise £3Bn a year and fund three million apprenticeships.

Peter Vinden commented: “If we are to see more apprenticeships created, then this can only be a good thing as we look to end the skills shortage gripping various industries across the UK.”

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