The housing sector is set to receive a timely boost, as measures are announced to increase house building, improve infrastructure and provide the skills needed to get more young people into construction.
Chancellor Philip Hammond last week presented his Autumn Budget to parliament and the key emphasis was on financial support and policy change in an effort to deliver 300,000 new homes per year by the mid-2020s, a figure not achieved since 1970.
The stimulus package includes an additional £15.3 billion over the next 5-years for house building, taking the total investment by Government to £44 billion.
The Chancellor revealed that Help to Buy had so far supported over 320,000 people into a new home, and to help first time buyer’s further, stamp duty in homes valued up to £300,000 will be abolished.
He pledged a shakeup of the planning system to make better use of land in towns and cities across the country and boost housing supply.
In an effort to tackle the skills shortage, £34 million of funding is to be set aside to train construction workers and improve skills.
Hammond also said he would stump up £300 million to ensure HS2 can accommodate future rail improvements to Northern Powerhouse and Midlands Engine.
And £1 billion of discounted lending will be available for local authorities who are planning high value infrastructure projects.
The announcement will go some way to appeasing Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid, who announced at September’s National Housing Federation conference 2017 he will be bringing forward a green paper on social housing in England.
A wide-ranging, top-to-bottom review of the issues facing the sector, he said the green paper will start a nationwide conversation on what has gone wrong with social housing, why it has gone wrong and – most importantly, how to fix it.
At M. Lambe Construction, we are already helping with the delivery of new homes, infrastructure and apprentices.
- In Cofton Hackett, Birmingham, we are helping St. Modwen Homes deliver a vibrant and sustainable new housing scheme, as part of the multi-million pound regeneration of the former MG Rover site. Our works, include: construction of 185 foundation bases, new roads and sewers, and landscaping.
- Working with Kier Living at Manor Kingsway in Derby, we constructed foundations for 200 houses with associated infrastructure, including a complex remodelling of a busy junction of the A5111 maintaining: a live carriageway at all times.
- And we’ve just invested in a training centre, with plans to create a bespoke training environment, recreating site conditions for our groundworks apprentices and trainees.
So, if you’d like to work with a civil engineering and groundworks specialist, who will work with you in collaboration to deliver projects to the highest levels of quality, health and safety and environmental management, complete the form below and send us your details or call us on 0121 554 2108 to talk with one of our experts.