Julia Evans, chief executive at BSRIA, has commented on Prime Minister Theresa May's speech delivered at the 2017 Conservative Party Conference.
Ms Evans stated: “In an attempt to fix Britain’s housing crisis, the Prime Minister announced that the party will meet its manifesto pledge with a “major boost” to renew the building of council and social housing “desperately needed”, with an allocation of £2 billion. This takes the total budget for affordable housing up to almost £9 billion.
“This extra social housing money will build 25,000 homes over five years – or 5,000 a year.
“This is an important first step undoubtedly – the UK’s housing shortage needs action, not only to help people in communities across the country, but also for the construction industry to attract and retain workers.
“This announcement will revitalise industry confidence, but we must see a spade in the ground. Increased house building is an absolute must for the industry and BSRIA members but the proof has to be in the pudding and words must turn into action. It shouldn’t be a case of sticking plasters around the edges of this crucial societal and industry issue.
“Regarding the Prime Minister’s intention to intervene in the energy market with the announcement of market-wide price caps, BSRIA is supportive of this as long as it doesn’t prevent such energy suppliers investing in renewable energy, of which BSRIA is supportive.”
BSRIA was encouraged to learn that at the Conference, Chancellor Philip Hammond announced that skills, infrastructure, and housing are some of the keys to boosting productivity, with £300 million in new funding going towards Northern Powerhouse rail, with Crossrail North (Northern Powerhouse Rail/HS3) fully and efficiently connecting with HS2.
This is an “important step forward” in ensuring that the longer-term infrastructure ambitions are joined-up and the golden nuggets of business in the north of England are recognised.