The Structural Timber Association (STA) welcomes the Chancellor’s transformative budget statement with regards to housebuilding, acknowledging it as a key moment for continuing the momentum in getting Britain building again – to ensure the Government reaches its target of 1.5 million homes in the next five years.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced an injection of £2 billion for affordable housing with plans to fund 18,000 social homes, as part of her Spring budget announcement.
“This is a significant investment and sends a clear signal of the commitment to addressing the challenges of the national housing shortage,” comments Andrew Orriss, CEO at STA.
“What we need to be mindful of is the delivery of this housebuilding and the scale needed. This is where offsite manufacture and low carbon structural timber has an essential role to play in helping the Government deliver its target of 1.5 million homes in the next five years. Indeed, there is existing capacity in the established structural timber manufacturing industry which must be utilised,” comments Andrew Orriss, CEO at STA.
“The advantages of timber construction are clear, from viability in a commercial sense to the sustainability benefits that are so crucial to the industry. The key to this success hinges on a comprehensive approach to delivery through competency, skills and informed decision making on designs and planning.”
Today’s budget also revealed plans for £600 million worth of investment to train up to 60,000 more skilled construction workers, as well as ten new technical excellence colleges across every region of the country. This is more than a workforce development initiative and has the ability to deliver well paid jobs across the country in the construction sector, not to mention being an essential role to play in helping the Government deliver its housing plans.
Andrew Orriss continues: “Today’s announcements follow a positive start to the year for structural timber with February’s ministerial approval of DEFRA’s Timber in Construction Roadmap (TiC), highlighting a strategic commitment to leverage timber as a key material in our built environment. Additionally, the Government’s recently introduced Plan for Change, recognises the pivotal role of sustainable construction in driving economic growth and addressing climate challenges.
“There can be no doubt that increasing the use of structural timber and offsite manufacturing is one of the most effective ways of ensuring the rapid and high-quality delivery of these vitally needed homes, while also meeting urgent decarbonisation obligations.
“The Structural Timber Association remains dedicated to working collaboratively with government, industry partners, and stakeholders to drive a transformative approach to construction that meets our economic, social, and environmental objectives.”
To learn more about building in structural timber, please visit: www.structuraltimber.co.uk
