Persimmon to build 80,000 homes over next five years

Persimmon have announced that they will build over 80,000 homes and create 1,000 jobs over the next five years.

The Chancellor George Osborne was on hand to welcome the news as he visited the Persimmon housing development in South Ockenden, Essex.

The announcement came just a day after the Chancellor confirmed in his Autumn Statement the biggest affordable house building programme since the 1970s’ in a bid to help working people buy their own home and boost plans to get Britain building.

Mr Osborne said: “One of this government’s key priorities is backing families who aspire to own their own home. We made a start tackling the home ownership crisis in the last Parliament, now we will do much more to turn Generation Rent into Generation Buy.

“The action I announced will help deliver 400,000 affordable new homes by the end of the decade, the biggest building programme by any government since the 1970s. We are the builders, and we choose to build the homes that people can buy.”

The 1,000 new employees will join Persimmon’s existing 4,500-strong workforce, which in the past year has included 200 young apprentices.

The company began work on 250 new developments in 2015, including the Arisdale Place development in South Ockenden, which upon completion will be made up of 185 homes.

Jeff Fairburn, Persimmon’s group Chief Executive, said: Home ownership continues to be an aspiration for the majority of British people and these latest initiatives announced by the Chancellor should help that dream become a reality for many more people.

“Now is a great time to buy, with lenders increasing the number of mortgage products available. The new schemes announced, which include Help to Buy Shared Ownership, London Help to Buy and the Starter Home initiative will all help even more people into home ownership.

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