To build or not to build is not exactly a choice for the British population. Many areas of the UK have been promised new housing developments to accommodate a growing population.
The latest statistics from ONS has reported that new home building is up by 15 per cent year on year. There were 131,000 new homes completed in the UK in the last 12 months and the highest annual total since June 2009.
The new rate of housing built is expected to rise to meet the government’s target of 275,000 per year by 2020. Housing Minister Brandon Lewis welcomed the latest figures and has commented that this has been the fastest rate of building for 20 years:
‘This has provided a real boost to the UK’s construction industry and is delivering the homes that hard-working people rightly deserve. However, we know there is more to do’.
There is a growing concern for first time buyers making it onto the property ladder and with the construction of the Crossrail causing a rapid surge in house prices in and around London as well as the construction of brand new developments, there is a worry that young buyers will never own. These new builds are to be purposefully built to boost the number of starter homes for first time buyers and Lewis has pointed out that some £10milion has been made readily available to bring forward brownfield sites to build new homes which will be available with a 20% discount.
Coupled with the number of homes built with it expected to rise, the construction industry output has also increased by 2.7% in June compared to the same month last year. Private housing between April and June rose by nearly 3.9% on the previous quarter.
The government has also emphasised the role of local residents, given them the powers to drive forward housing development with the number of homes in locally led plans up by a quarter. Prior to March 2012, the average number of homes planned for local councils was 573 per year and with local plans published, the average of local homes is now set to rise to 717 homes per year.
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