Party pledges to unlock housing supply in annual conference
Labour leader Sir Kier Starmer has vowed to unlock housebuilding in the UK if his party takes power after the next General Election.
Speaking at his party’s conference in Liverpool, Starmer pledged to “bulldoze through” planning barriers as part of his plan to “get Britain building”.
We’ll get shovels in the ground, cranes in the sky and build the next generation of Labour new towns.
Sir Kier Starmer, Labour party leader
Starmer also vowed to “fight the blockers”, with “no more councils refusing to develop a local plan” and “no more landbankers sitting on brownfield land”.
In addition, Starmer stated that a Labour government would aim to build 1.5 million homes over a five-year term, increasing the number of affordable homes built by strengthening local authority powers to enforce requirements.
Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves also revealed that the party would introduce “once in a generation” reforms for housing, energy and transport, with plans to “take on our antiquated planning system” and expand local planning authority capacity.
The industry responded positively to the pledges, with Gavin Smart, Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, saying: “An effective planning system, backed with the right resources, is key to ensuring we have the right homes in the right places that people can afford.”
Kate Henderson, Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation, said: “It is also positive to see a pragmatic approach to reviewing the greenbelt, which needs to be done strategically rather than the current piecemeal approach.”
Housing demand remains weak, says RICS
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has found that poor housing demand is likely to remain in place, with their latest UK Residential Market Survey revealing that more surveyors have reported a fall than a rise in new buyer enquiries in September.
However, the survey also found a glimmer of hope, with twelve-month sales expectations now stable.
Meanwhile, official figures from the Office for National Statistics show that construction output fell for the second successive month in August.
Heavy rainfall and lower-than-average temperatures led to a delay in planned work, resulting in a -0.5% fall in volume output in the month.
Forterra and Travis Perkins hit by housing slump
Deteriorating housing demand has led materials giant Forterra to close a brick factory in Lancashire.
In a trading update which warned that profits would be below market expectations, the manufacturer said: “Consultation is currently underway on the mothballing of a further brick factory at Claughton in Lancashire along with cuts to production in our Aircrete business.
“The market weakness seen in recent months, coupled with the lead time associated with efficiently reducing production, will lead to our inventory build in 2023 being higher than previously anticipated.”
The move comes after another factory at Howley Park was mothballed earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Travis Perkins has also downgraded its profit forecast, with expectations that full-year profit would now be no higher than £195m.
Pointing to “challenging market conditions with significant commodity product deflation impacting on margins”, the builders merchant stated that it remained “focused on actions to minimise the impact on profitability”.
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