SME housebuilders claim the government’s new contract forcing all developers to pay £2bn or more to fix unsafe properties is unfair. Housing secretary Michael Gove released the details this week giving developers a six-week deadline to sign up to remediate homes that are 11 metres or above built over the last 30 years. National Federation of Builders, NFB Richard Beresford chief executive said: “This announcement is a case of ‘Hobson’s choice’, as it tells innocent builders to sign a contract [...]

Housebuilders have described new rules forcing developers in England to adopt sustainable drainage systems to prevent flooding as ‘ill thought out’. The government has announced it will amend the flood and management act to make sustainable systems, referred to as SuDs, mandatory on all new housing development by 2024. Currently, SuDs, which typically use soakaways, grassed areas, permeable surfaces and wetlands to reduce pressure on public sewers, are required for developments of ten homes or more. The National Federation of [...]

Giving up mandatory housing targets will harm SME developers and condemn another generation to ‘housing misery’, the National Federation of Builders, NFB, has warned. The trade body said compulsory targets had allowed councils to concentrate on sites that could easily be delivered which had helped local SME builders. It claimed that making the targets negotiable would lead to councils concentrating on high-volume sites which take longer to happen. National Federation of Builders, NFB, housing and planning policy head Rico Wojtulewicz [...]

Changes to the levelling up and regeneration bill allowing councils to withhold planning consent to developers slow to build on a site are counterproductive, claims the industry. They argue that land banking is a myth and that developers are keen to build on sites as soon as possible to gain a return on investment. Home Builders Federation, HBF, planning director Sam Stafford told Construction News: “Repeated independent investigations have concluded that homebuilders do not land bank. “Builders are always keen [...]

Housebuilders are calling on chancellor Jeremy Hunt to support SMEs following the demise of help-to-buy where first-time buyers could access a mortgage at low-interest rates. The scheme, which only required a five per cent deposit, made up nearly half of all sales for many housebuilders in 2020. However, this figure dropped when it was limited to first-time buyers back in April 2021. New help-to-buy applications closed last month with a deadline of the end of March 2023 for completion of [...]

Construction companies are being asked for their views on an industry-wide plan to slash diesel use on building sites by more than three quarters within the next 13 years. Since last year’s COP 26 contractors, plant firms, clients and trade bodies have been working with the Construction Leadership Council, CLC, on a draft zero diesel sites route map published this week. Zero Diesel working group chair and HS2 environmental sciences head of Neil Wait said: “We are reminded of the [...]

PM hopeful Rishi Sunak’s pledge to protect the green belt and focus on delivering new homes on brownfield sites has been described as lacking insight by the construction industry. Mr Sunak has said he wants to help smaller developers by removing barriers hindering them from building new homes and has pledged to tackle land banking. He also said he would offer funding certainty for planning departments with a ‘balanced approach’ to planning fees. The National Federation of Builders, NFB’s housing [...]

New warehouses and infrastructure growth are expected to fuel a rise in construction output by 2.5 per cent for 2022, according to the Construction Product Association’s latest forecast. The trade body predicts the industrial sector, covering warehouses and factories, to rise by 15 per cent for 2022 and nearly ten per cent for 2023. Construction Products Association, CPA, economics director Noble Francis said: “Activity continues to be boosted by the strength of online retailing as well as manufacturers’ need for [...]

Overestimates of the amount of river polluting nutrients housebuilding generates is leading councils to delay 100,000 new homes’ planning applications, claims the Home Builders Federation. A new report by planning consultancy Lichfields shows Natural England’s pollutant methodology to be based on overestimates about the population increase new homes generate. Lichfields senior director Gareth Williams said: “It fails to recognise a significant proportion of these new homes are to meet the requirement of existing residents so have no impact on the [...]

Thousands of first-time buyers will miss out on a help-to-buy loan due to the government introducing a new deadline for reserving a property by the 31st of October. Originally consumers could reserve a home by the end of December if the new building was completed by the end of March 2023. Home Builders Federation, HBF, policy director David O’Leary said: “Some developers were planning on keeping plots to come to fruition by the end of the year. They are shocked [...]

Steel, bitumen, cast iron, rebar and timber supply issues along with rising cement, bricks and blocks and glass costs are likely impacts of the conflict in Ukraine. The Construction Leadership Council, CLC, is urging contractors and suppliers to work together to overcome these problems. Arcadis partner and CLC member Simon Rawlinson said: “We hope to help companies navigate through these current challenges with guidance and points to think about, supporting firms in what could be a challenging period for the [...]

A new bill forcing builders to assess the carbon emissions of a new project prior to construction will force SMEs out of business, the industry has warned. Conservative MP Duncan Baker’s private members bill would require them to measure, report and reduce a scheme’s carbon emissions during the design process. SME construction firm Hofton & Son, based in Nottinghamshire, has said if the bill is passed on its second reading on 18th March then it will stop building homes. Managing [...]