New report from the CBI calls for additional help for SME housebuilders and more focus on the Private Rented Sector.
The UK’s largest business group is calling for a new way of thinking, matched with action, to ensure the housebuilding market delivers the homes people need.
In No Place Like Home the CBI notes that the Government has taken ‘bold steps’ to deal with the problem – from Help to Buy to the recent Home Building Fund. However it states that a lack of affordable homes continues to hamper firms’ ability to recruit and retain talented staff.
Josh Hardie, CBI Deputy Director-General, said: “A quiet revolution in the way business and the Government think about, provide and deliver housing is necessary if we are to reach the welcome target of one million new homes by 2020.”
The CBI wants to see:
- A strategic housing plan from the Department for Communities and Local Government, with the forthcoming white paper on housing being integrated and joined up across Whitehall and beyond
- Government help for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) housebuilders through improved release of small sites of public land and making access to finance easier, by rolling out its Home Building Fund
- Recognition of the importance of, and improving the attractiveness of, the Private Rented Sector.
Josh Hardie continued: “The ‘one size fits all’ approach has passed its sell-by date. As the demographic landscape changes, we must have homes in the right places that fit the needs of people who live in them, creating vibrant and attractive communities. Equally, we must see different types of players in the market, like small housebuilders, more innovation and new partnerships between business to boost our supply base.
“A flexible approach, underpinned by government working with business, will enable us to deliver the homes we sorely need, and which will drive productivity, boost growth and increase prosperity in every corner of the country.”
The CBI report, No Place Like Home, is available here.
